The Wild Card Of Remnant
by XanatosGambit86
Summary: After failing again to get into Signal, Jaune Arc finds himself moping upon the hills overlooking his home town. All he ever wanted to do was be a Hunter like his sisters and parents. However, on that day things changed for him. An encounter with a strange girl leads to the youth gaining a power that was thought forgotten and lost. The power of the Wild Card. The power of Persona
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Moping. That was a quickly becoming Jaune Arc's hobby after failing the entrance test for the third time. Lucky for him, he had a nice secluded spot on a hill overlooking his hometown. It always cheered him up somewhat. Vale was beautiful this time of the year, what with an upcoming summer festival and people excited for whats to come.

He was enjoying the cool breeze when heard a young voice call from behind.

"You know, you've been coming here a lot with that dumb mopey expression."

Jaune turned around to see a girl around his age looking at him with a scowl. She was sporting short black hair, glasses, a white dress shirt with a black blazer and black dress pants.

"Umm what?" He said dumbly.

"You look so dumb just sitting under that tree looking like the world has ended. It's really annoying." He looked away and sighed. He must really look pathetic. Before he could respond, the girl in black took a seat by him.

"So shoot. Why do you look so pathetic?" The mystery girl said in a commanding tone. The way the question was asked was so blunt and brusque that the young man's mood shifted from mopey to slightly nervous. He would normally tell any other person to shove off and mind their own business. Leave him to his misery but the feeling from glasses girl was that if he didn't answer properly he would get an ear full. Something he didn't want at the moment.

"I failed to get into Signal a third time." He said. The glasses girl frowned at his statement.

"So? What's so bad about that?" She asked.

"Other then failing for the third time which is humiliating in itself." He said with wide eyes. "I live with a family of well renown hunters. If I don't become a hunter… I don't know its like I failed them somehow."

"Is that really so bad though? To Not being a Hunter. I mean would your parents really be ashamed that their son wasn't a Hunter." She probed. Jaune's eyes narrowed at the question. Truth betold his parents wouldn't be. In fact, his parents had told him time and again that it was okay for him not to be Hunter like they and his sisters were. That in fact, they'd preferred he choose another path. One where his life wouldn't be in danger. One where they won't have to worry about burying another one of their flesh and blood.

"I suppose not." He said. "But, I can't see being anything other then a Huntsmen. And well… I want to help people like my family does. Protect them you know.

The Glasses girl smiled at that. Jaune had a feeling that she rarely smiled. It made her look stunning.

"You really are pathetic you know that?"

"Hey!"

"But it's a cute kind of pathetic." She said. Jaune blushed slightly at being called cute and simply nodded. "Chin up though. I'm sure you'll make it eventually with all the hard work you've been putting in. After all, the more you put in, the more you get out."

 _That statement sounded incredibly cliche_ was Jaune's first thought. He would have said it out loud but thought better with it.

Glasses girl suddenly looked at him suspiciously causing Jaune to shift back slightly.

"What?"

"You were thinking something bad about me weren't you."

 _Crap_

"StupidJerkfaceIhateyounow" She muttered darkly.

For a moment, Jaune was at a loss for what to say. Glasses girl seemed to go into random mood shift at the flip of a coin. Right now, he felt that anything he said would land him in hot water.

It was no surprise that was incredibly grateful when his phone received a text. He opened it quickly.

Called away to a mission. Dinner is in the fridge. Be back Tomorrow.- Mom and Dad.

Jaune frowned. On one hand he was thankful that he didn't have to break the news to them as soon as he got home. On the other hand, Emergency dispatches usually entailed a high amount of danger. Being a Hunter's child, he'd should normally be used to it but there was always that seed of fear for his family that lied buried within his heart.

"Trouble back at home." Glasses girl asked. Jaune nodded.

"Something like that." he responded. He stood up and dusted himself off. "Parents are away on a mission. I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Feeling better now?" She asked.

Jaune gazed out into the sunset thoughtfully for a moment.

"I think so." He said with his best smile. "The more I put in right."

"That's right!" The girl said brightly. "I'm sure you'll fulfill your wish if you just keeping working at it. And don't be ashamed if you fail again. Just keep trying."

"What's your name?" Jaune asked suddenly. He'd normally be to scared out of his mind to even talk to a pretty girl but with glasses girl it was different. There was something about the girl in front of him that felt familiar yet warm. She had this certain presence that made it easy for him to talk to her.

"I'm Mariko." She responded. She stood up and held out her hand. "You?"

"My name is Jaune." He responded taking it and pulling her up.

"Nice to meet you Jaune." She said. "Since your parents aren't home, I'm guessing your free the rest of the night. Which means; You'd love to take me out through town and buy me some Steak."

The blond haired kid frowned at this statement. It was a twisted bit of logic. However, he owed her for pulling him out of his state of self-loathing. Besides, It certainly beats returning to an empty house.

So, he simply nodded and he found himself dragged around town. What started as a miserable afternoon soon came to be one of the most memorable nights he had in his life

 **II.**

The night he spent with Mariko was one he'll never forget. The glasses girl was so full of life and energy. Everything she looked at seemed new or wondrous to her. From the Circus act of knife throwers to her first bite of a steak skewer, to her laughter at a lame pun Jaune made, the blond haired boy could not remember when was the last time he had this much fun.

Most of his time was spent studying for the entrance exams or in the gym training in hopes that he could just strong enough to be to able to enter Signal. The only down side was the fact that he had pretty much used up his allowance for the week. Something his parents wouldn't be happy about. Still, as the clock struck midnight and he escorted the young Miss Mariko to the hills overlooking town; As the clouds parted and the shattered moon shone and illuminated the area they were standing in; as he gazed up at the moon then at the girl in glasses he was certain that this day wasn't entirely a waste. That this memory, despite all the bad things associated with it was worth it.

"Thank you Jaune, for showing me around." Mariko said with a smile

"It was nothing." Jaune said. "You helped me out the most and-"

Abruptly, Mariko kissed him in the cheek causing the young man's face to become as red as a tomato.

"Wha- was- that for!?"

"Your reward…" Mariko said. Her expression then became somber. She then muttered more to herself then to him "Or maybe it's a burden."

Something strange happened in that moment, a mysterious fog began to envelop the area they were in.

"What? But it didn't rain at all today…" Jaune said looking around confused. "Hey Mariko what's going… Wait Mariko?" The girl before him had vanished. The Fog grew thicker. The kid could barely make out the details of forest now.

 _"Do you really want to be a hero…"_ A voice called from a far.

"Who said that?" Jaune said. What on Remnant was going on?

 _"What goods being a hero when the people you want to protect are worthless."_ Another voice called out.

"Who's out there! I'm warning you." Jaune yelled. Fear crept into his mind now. Every instinct in his body was yelling for him to run away. In fact, the farther he walked through fog, the quicker his steps became. Soon, it became a full on sprint and run through forest. He didn't know how long he was running and the only time he actually stopped was when found himself tripping over a rock.

 _"People don't want to be protected they want to die."_

 _"They want to feel connections without pain."_

 _"_ _They're greedy and will do anything to satiate their hungers."_ Another voice whispers echoed throughout the forest. They were loud without actually being loud. The budding hunters head began to hurt the more these whispers persisted. Sweat rolled through over his head and began to breath heavily.

"Who… are you… What do you want with me?" He yelled back. "Mariko! Are you there? Where did you go?"

With every bit effort, he forced himself to stay calm. Actually, it was a miracle that he even retained his composure.

"Mariko? Is that you?" He said rushing forward. He was soon found himself chasing the figure, ignoring the whispers within the fog. "Hey cut it out! This isn't funny."

His hands landed on what he thought to be Mariko's shoulder. It wasn't. In fact, when he turned the person around he was greeted by the strangest of sights.

It was like looking into a mirror. The person he grabbed looked exactly like Jaune. Right down to the sword sheathed on his belt and the armor he was wearing. The only difference is the doubles eyes. They were the color yellow eyes.

"Who are you?" Jaune asked.

"You found me?" He said. "I've waited for so long."

"What do you mean?"

The double simply smiled. The Fog began to recede and blue light enveloped the area.

"I am Yo-"

 **III.**

 _"So you finally found someone. One who has the potential."_

 _"_ _It took long time but yes. He will be the First Persona user in eons._

 _"_ _Are you certain about the boy though?"_

 _"_ _I'm really not. Then again, one can never be to certain when it comes to those granted with Persona."_

 _"_ _Is he our best chance though? We could always wait for another."_

 _"_ _We can't afford to wait. After millennia of being unguarded the Great Seal is beginning to weaken. Your counterpart is about ready to manifest in this world once again. Stronger Shadows and Demons are beginning to materialize in a world that's already being overrun with those monsters. Greater Horrors that I had to personally deal with are also now in the process of being recreated from the human heart and with what happened during_ _ **The Calamity**_ _, I'm no longer strong enough to vanquish them. Blondie right now is our best shot at saving this world._ _"_

 _"_ _I suppose your right. Very well then. Once Jaune fully awakens I'll revive Igor and have him create The Velvet Room. The boy will need a means to train his heart after all."_

 _"_ _Good._ _Then I'll see if I can locate Chronos' current incarnation. We'll need his power if we want to know what went on during the Calamity. Hopefully even reverse it."_

 _"_ _Lets begin then. Good_ _luck_ _and Godspeed Izanami."_

 _"_ _It Mariko now!"_

 _ **Authors Note**_

Welcome everybody to my next piece for this site. It's been a while since I've posted anything and I really wanted to get back into writing again. This idea mainly came about because I ended beating Persona 4 Golden for the umpteenth time. There was also the fact that I've been doing a fair amount of catching on Rwby. I really hope you enjoy it and as always read and review.


	2. What Potential? What Destiny?

**"What Potential? What Destiny?"**

Jaune woke up the next morning barely remembering what happened the night before. He remembered escorting Mariko to where they both met. He remembered the bizarre fog and the weird blue light. Afterwards, he didn't remember much. He didn't even remember how he got home. When he woke up, he was still in his normal clothes. What exactly happened? Was it a dream?

His thoughts were soon pushed aside when her heard his mother call.

"Jaune! We're home!"

He was really dreading this moment. He really didn't want to disappoint them again. For one brief moment he was actually tempted to lie and tell him he got into Signal. After further considering that action though, he decided not to.

"Jaune! There you are." His mother said. In terms of looks Jaune resembled in many ways. She had long blond hair, green eyes, she was skinny and always projected a comforting aura around her. "I have some exciting news!"

"I wouldn't say exciting exactly." A deep voice called from the door. A burly man with red hair, who was slightly taller then appeared through the door. "We got free tickets to the Schnee Music Concert. Nothing to cheer about really. Only your mother would be interested in that sort of thing."

glared at her husband. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get any tickets to these events? Even with Hunter Benefits?"

"Please Honey. Do you know how boring those concerts are?"

"They aren't boring! You just lack taste!"

"Mom! Dad! There's something I need to tell you." The son said quickly. The two turned to their son looking at him expectantly.

"I failed the exam again."

Maybe it was because of his encounter with Mariko last night but Jaune noticed something he had always glazed over whenever he broke the news to them. He noticed how relieved they looked whenever he told them he failed.

"Oh honey! I'm sorry!" His mother said.

"Maybe you'll have luck next time kiddo." His father said. The words sounded like they were rehearsed.

"I'm sorry Mom. I'm sorry Dad."

"That is okay my dear. We're still proud of you for trying. No need to dwell on it. In fact, these free tickets came at the perfect time! You can forget all your woes once you indulge in a bit of high class culture."

"Honey…" groaned. Any further protest was stopped when shot her husband one of her more infamous Jean Arc glares. He sighed deeply. "Right. It's going to be fun. A night out will do us all some good."

"Glad to hear it. Right now, I'm going to need some sleep before the concert though. Also Jaune; Since you're off today, I'm going to need you run a couple errands." She said.

"What do you need done?"

"I'm going to need you to put in an order for me at Dust till Dawn. Pick some groceries from a list I'm going to give you and when your done with that I'm going to need you to help out move some furniture around. She may be tough but she's getting on in her years and still needs help."

"I can do that. Is there anything else" The blond haired youth asked. frowned thoughtfully.

"Nope, just make sure you get done before seven." She said. Her eyebrows furrowed and then widened as she just remembered something else. "Oh by the way; Do you still have that suit I bought you last week right?"

"Yeah."

"Good you're going to need it for tonight. Wait. That reminds me. Jonas!" She turned her to her husband. "Did you get your suit dry cleaned liked I asked you to?"

The Arc husband looked away embarrassingly. "Sorry! I kind of forgot." Jean shot her husband another glare.

"For god-sake…" She responded. "Add taking your father's suit to the Dry Cleaner."

"Yes mom"

"Good. I'll see you in a couple of hours then."

After getting the shopping list. He ended up, getting a bag and leaving the house for errands.

 **II.**

It was noon when Jaune finished the first half of his errands. He had decided to take break for lunch and eat at one of his favorite burger stands:Bob's Meats

"Jaune! What's up?" Bob called. He was a chubby faunas man with dog ears, a red bandanna, white shirt and a black apron.

"Starving" Jaune said with a smile. " I've been running around all day. This is my first break in a while. I'll get Two steak burgers please."

"Wow! Is that for you alone? Or maybe that Mariko girl with you again?"

"I haven't eaten breakfast today so they're for me. Besides Mariko isn't with me today…" Jaune said with a smile. It took ten-seconds before Jaune realized what Bob just asked. "Wait! She was real?"

"You hit your head or something." Bob raised his eyebrows. "She is; I've talked to her for a good five minutes before something else caught her interesting and she dragged you away. She was quite a hottie too. Where on Remnant did you meet a girl like that? No offense but you're not exactly a looker."

Jaune ignored the indirect insult as he began to reflect on what happened last night. He remembered the first place he took Mariko was this very burger join, next they went to see a circus act by the Infernal Immortals. He was then dragged to a live quiz event where he spent a good hour or two trying to stay awake. It was only when that mysterious fog appeared and what happened during it that the potential Huntsmen was convinced that his time with Mariko wasn't real.

"Was it really foggy last night."

"Again I'll ask you: Did you hit your head or something? No. it was nice and sunny all week. Are you okay bro?"

Jaune frowned. He really wasn't. What happened at the end of his little "date" had him worried. He wasn't robbed, or injured when he woke up. Quite the contrary, he felt more aware and focused then ever before. As if there was something in his heart had been lifted. That there were these metaphorical chains that had one day been shattered. He wasn't sure if the change was good or not.

"Earth to Jaune! Are you alive?" Bob asked. The youth in question snapped his head towards Bob.

"Oh! Sorry about that man. How much is it?"

"That will be Ten Lien. Actually, I'll give you a discount if you can introduce me to any of Mariko's friends. Pretty girls like that tend to attract other pretty girls you know."

"Afraid I can't do that. She's not with me today. I'll talk to her about it when I see her again" Jaune replied. Whether or not he would meet her again is an entirely different story.

 **III.**

By five in the afternoon Jaune was at the steps of the house with a bag of groceries in hand and a sore back after moving a couch and a large table from 's family room. His father was there to greet him when he entered the family room. Jonas was currently busy making adjustments to Warhammer.

"Hey Kiddo! I take it you done with the chores?" Jonas said re-loading a cartridge.

"Yeah, the Dry Cleaners even finished getting your suit done in record time."

"Joy."

The son placed the groceries down. "So. What's for dinner tonight?"

"Does Spaghetti sound good to you?" Jonas said, putting the finishing touches to his weapon. When Jaune nodded, Jonas smiled and went to the Kitchen. "Alright. slice up the tomatoes and meat and get the salad ready. I'll get the pasta ready and prepare the sauce."

The task was routine for the Arc family as both father and soon went about their tasks with near machine like precision.

"I heard you got a new girlfriend." Jonas said, while he was stirring the sauce.

"Where'd you hear that?"

"When I went to pick up a package from Mark. Didn't realize my son was such a playboy." He teased.

"She's just a friend dad." Jaune replied, stirring the pasta.

"Riiiiigggggtttt" He said with a playful tone. "Just be sure to use protection."

"Dad!"

Jonas roared with laughter at his son's embarrassment and he stirred the tomato sauce with one more good stroke.

 **IV.**

Dinner was always a lively affair in the Arc household with Jonas laughing fits or Jean's dry commentary. Of course, a majority of the conversation around the dinner table consisted of the parents regaling their son with tales of their exploits around the Kingdom and whenever their sisters found the time to visit and have dinner, they'd tell their own stories as well. It was one of the reasons Jaune was next to desperate trying to become Huntsmen; Because he wanted a deeper _bond_ with his family.

"So how did you get score tickets to the Schnee concert if they're so rare." Jaune asked.

"It was during the emergency Deployment." Jean said while slicing her lettuce in her salad. "An airship from Atlas to Vale carrying some Grimm for research purposes broke down and crashed into the very facility it was supposed transferred to. It just so happens the facility in question belongs to the Schnee Corporation. Naturally, our team was dispatched to deal with the situation. We managed to wipe out all those Deathstalkers, beowolves, before they did any serious damage to the facility. However, there was an Armored Grimm there that managed to escape the purge."

"Don't know how something that huge could have escaped any of our Hunter's notice." Jonas added before chewing on and swallowing a meatball. "I don't even know why the Director ordered us not to give chase when it escaped that sector of the facility. Those guards that were a part of the staff that continued the chase looked about as skilled as rookie hunter. "

"It is suspicious. What with the _rumors_ that were going around about Schnee Corp's recent research practices. I wouldn't have been surprised if that section of the facility housed an experiment that was illegal. That's probably why the Director was forcing those tickets into my hands once the mission was cleared. He wanted to make sure I didn't investigate further."

"For a moment, I thought you were going lob his head off for trying to bribe you."

"Oh I was so close to doing so but Ozpin and his own team came in and told me he would handle it. Even suggested I take the tickets anyway. Well, since he's handling the situation and he was insistent anyway, I decided why not; As I said earlier Schnee Music Tickets are hard to come by."

"Still though. Is his team really going to be all right hunting that Grimm?"

"That Armored type was pretty weak. I bet a team of students could probably handle them with very minimal effort." Jean said dismissively. "Besides, Ozpin was likely investigating the Facility itself before the accident and strong armed the director into letting him into that sector. The Director could hardly say no to the Headmaster of Beacon." Her eyes looked over the clock "It's almost time. Both of you finish up and get ready!"

Both father and son looked at each other. Jonas rolled his eyes and simply nodded. Jaune nodding back, finished his own meal quickly and as swiftly as possible.

 **V.**

Jaune felt incredibly out of place when he arrived at the theater. Oh, he blended in well enough in this ancient yet sophisticatedly designed building with its leather seats and it advanced environmental controls. Apparently, the suit his mother bought him the other week, was the latest in men's fashion. Unfortunately, it did nothing to hide his posture or prevent him from staring at every beautiful looking teen socialite that passed his way.

It was certainly a good thing that they had seats in one of the luxury boxes other wise the teen may have ended up drawing more attention then normal.

The crowd is energetic tonight. Supposedly, among the standard entertainment provided by some of the finest musicians of the Schnee family; There was to be a debut by Company's youngest Heiress. The budding young hunter caught tidbits of the gossip.

 _"I heard Weiss Schnee is supposed to be some kind of prodigy."_

 _"Isn't the entire family filled with prodigies? I mean when you think about it, she really isn't that special. Wasn't_ _winter_ _even younger then Weiss when she made her debut?"_

 _"Looks, money, popularity and talent. Come on! That girl literally won the lottery when it comes to being born with the right kind of blood."_

All the whispers stopped when the lights dimmed and the announcer came on to introduce the first act of the show. Once he was done, a chubby older lady wearing a glittering dress appeared on stage and began to sing.

The Song she sang lasted for twenty minutes. Both Jonas and Jaune's eyes twitched, a sense of dread slowly invading their hearts. Jean's reaction however was far more different. She was enthralled form the moment the fat lady sung. There was actually a single tear that ran down her cheek when she finished the song. The rest of the performances were like that. Overly long and very drawn out pieces of music that had induce not only boredom but pure apathy.

The more the concert went on, the more fatigued Jaune became. His eyes were watering and eventually he drifted off to sleep. He then dreamed.

In the dream, he was in a cafe, sitting at a table and watching a performance at the corner of the room. Every thing in the room was blue except perhaps some of the patrons of this cafe. There was a man in blind fold and a tuxedo playing a piano in the corner and a woman singing the most elegant of melodies. The young teen felt himself calm at the sound of her soothing voice. He felt safe in this room. He felt as if nothing could go wrong.

There was man and a woman sitting across from him at his table.

The main was a short, stocky man who wore a smile. The most striking feature though is his long nose. The women next to him had yellow eyes, blond hair and she much like the rest of the room, she was sporting a blue coat with six buttons.

"You've arrived earlier then I expected." The long nosed man said, looking at him with curiosity. "That is very interesting, but not unwelcome."

"What is this place" Jaune asked

"This is a place that exists between dreams and reality. Mind and matter."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Igor. I am one the one in charge of this room."

"And exactly what is this room."

"Welcome to The Velvet Room." The long nose chuckled excitedly. "How delightful! It's been so long since I've been able to say that…"

"What exactly is this place."

"Think of it as a sanctuary for the soul. A place where the it can be trained and nurtured."

"So. Why did I come here?" He asked. Igor's smile widened.

"You have a great destiny ahead of you and a Potential to reach out and attain that greatness."

"What potential? What destiny?"

"You will find out very soon." Igor replied. "For now, awake and enjoy the performance of the Concert."

 _"Hey Kiddo!"_ A voice called. It echoed impossibly throughout the Velvet Room.

 **VI**

The Teen's eyes snapped open as he felt his father shove his elbow against his stomach. He looked around quickly to find his mother glaring at him. She didn't say anything and she didn't need to. The message was clear enough: _You're getting an earful when we get home!_

In a way, he felt slightly proud of himself. He almost managed to make it through the concert without being caught.

He stretched out his arms and yawned and watched as the last performance of the night entered the center stage. The shattered moon was shining brightly as the last performance of the night introduced herself.

If Jaune could use two words to describe the Schnee Corporation Heiress it was this: Beautiful Snow. She had hair as pure as snow and silver eyes to complement her hair. She was wearing a white jacket over what looked to be a corsage and she had a white skirt.

The lights dimmed once again. The performance started. It was a somber beginning with a piano. The orchestra followed the piano and the melody picked up. Then Weiss sang.

 _"Mirror. Tell me something. Tell me who's the loneliest of all."_

With those first lyrics sung, the audience was enraptured. Jaume himself was enthralled. As the orchestra sound grew louder, the emotion Weiss puts in the lyrics became emotional. There was a certain power within that song; At least Jaune thoughts so.

 _"Mirror! What's inside me? Tell me how the heart can be turned to stone!"_

There was sense of loneliness behind those lyrics. One that hit close to home for Jaune. Funny how a song could bring back memories. He remembered a dream he had so long ago. One that kept happening everything he failed to get into Signal

 _"Mirror_ _Mirror_ _what's behind you. Save me from the things I see."_

He dreamed that he was seven years old again, his sisters and he were out a family outing in a grassy field. It was sunny and the skies were clear and blue. He was playing with his sisters. Their laughter and his own ringing through the air. Then one sister said she had to go. She was busy studying for an exam. Another said she had to do mission and another said she no longer had time for games. One by one, they vanished and as they vanished the skies grew grayer. Eventually Jaune was the only one left. The wind blew and it was then that it began to snow.

 _"I can it keep from the world why won't you let it hide from me."_

 _"_ _Mirror! Mirror! Tell me who the loneliest one of all."_

The music swelled and then meandered as Weiss uttered the last lyrics of the song. He recalled the feelings he had within the dream. He felt like he was being left behind. He tried calling for his sisters. He tried calling for his parents, but none had returned. He waited in hopes of their return but it was useless. No one was coming and the snow covered the field.

 _"I'm the loneliest one of all."_

The song had ended. A single tear fell from Jaune's face as he took one deep breath and step up with the rest of the crowd cheering clapping with them. Needless to say her debut was successful. The people were calling for encores and for a moment, it looked Weiss would acquiesce to their demands.

Jaune would have been the one to demand and encore with them when something happened. A sharp pain cut across his chest followed by a surge of panic and fear. Instinctively he grabbed his chest. Something was wrong. Something was coming. He didn't know how he sensed it but he knew.

"Jaune what wrong?" Jean asked with concern.

Then it happened. In an instant several people began to scream. Jaune rushed to the front of the box and looked at the direction of the screams. He caught sight of shadowy creatures appearing leaping on and rending the flesh of one of several concert goers. It only took one word from one of the audience members induce panic in the entire auditorium.

 **"GRIMM** **!** **"**

Chaos and carnage were the next act of this concert.

 **Author's Note**

 _It took a bit of work getting this out. I wanted to actually develop Jaune's character a bit more before throwing him to the mix of things. I also wanted to get a good sense of his writing his character and what kind of dynamic he would have with his own family before I get into some of the more meaty parts of what I really want to do with this story._

 _Originally I was going to have his inevitable awakening in this chapter but it didn't feel right adding it. I felt that it would disrupt the flow and pacing if I jumped right into battle at the end. So I decided to end it on a tease and cliffhanger. Also, for editing purposes I try to limit the word count to at least a maximum of around 4,000 and below._

 _You may have also noticed I changed around the summary. That was because I wrote the summary before I wrote the story. Things ended up changing as I was writing the prologue and this first chapter._

 _I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors I've likely missed. I kept going over this chapter several times and I'd like to believe I ironed out all the wrinkles but realistically speaking There are probably a lot of things I missed. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a Beta in a couple of weeks._

 _Next Chapter our new Wild Card jumps into the fray and gets in way over his head. Look forward to his first battle and his first encounter with certain young Ice Queen!_


	3. I am thou Thou art I

" **I am thou. Thou art I"**

She had done it. A successful debut. The crowd was wild and raving. With all the control befitting of an Heiress, she kept her face calm and cool, then she bowed.

"Encore! Encore! Encore!" The crowd cheered. Weiss Schnee smiled internally at this. It was close to midnight, and she really should end the show now but as the crowds cheers grew louder she thought: _Who was I to deny my new and adoring fans!_

Feeling pride was a rare thing for Weiss. She had spent half her life trying to be the Heiress her family company deserves. The girl spent countless hours training and studying never quite feeling that the level of skill she attained through her hard labor was good enough.

She wanted to redeem the family legacy. Make it one to be proud of. She would surpass her father and take the company to a direction he never could; This debut was the first step to that.

As she was getting ready to sing once again. Several people in the crowd screamed. The snow haired girl's eyes widen as she found eight shadow figures appeared from the back of the theatre.

 _Oh no!_ She thought _Grimm!_

The crowd screamed as the four legged beast with glowing red eyes claimed its first victim: A fellow noble whom Weiss recognized as some ditzy girl named Lena. The creature tackled her onto the ground and gouged out her throat. The Heiress screamed internally, silently as she watched with horror when the young socialites her body shook violently struggling for dear life. After a few moments the young girl died, her eyes becoming dull and empty.

More people panicked as more beowolves flooded into the theatre. Weiss, at the moment, felt incapable of moving. It was the first time she saw death that close. Her hands were quivering her mind slowly withdrawing into itself. _This has to be a dream._

She had experience fighting Grimm. Several personal tutors she had would take her out into the fields and have her kills scores of them. She was no stranger to combat. She was however,a stranger to seeing people die by the dozen.

"Weiss! Weiss! Snap out of it now," A voice called through her ear piece. Her sister, Winter's voice brought her back to reality,"

"Winter. What's going on?"

"The Grimm had somehow managed to sneak into the theatre. They've over run the hallways and my team and I are currently dealing with them. I'm sorry but we had to seal the doors to prevent any more from entering the Auditorium. The nearest Hunter HQ has be notified but it'll take some time before they can arrive. I need you to clear any Grimm that are in the auditorium and place a defensive glyph on the doors. Do you think you can do that?"

"Sister…" She said hesitantly

"Weiss please, I need your head in the game now. Right now, you're the only known hunter on that site to help those civilians.

The Heiress looked as the crowd began to scramble and pound on the now sealed exists. The more panicked they grew the more relentless the Grimm became. More and more people died the longer she stood there. Never in her imagination did she think her debut as singer would also be he debut as a rookie Huntress.

She took one deep breath and nodded. "Don't worry sister. I have this."

"Good," Winter said relieved. "Take care Weiss and make sure to survive. It would be unfitting of an heiress to die on her first mission."

It was intended to be a joke but it just made the younger Ice Queen even more nervous.

Once Winter disconnected, Weiss brandished her Rapier Mrytenaster. She pointed at the nearest Grimm, and activated her aura. It is time for her counter attack.

 **II.**

Jaune watched both in horror and awe at the events below. Horror as he saw Grimm devouring and tearing the flesh of the other theatre goes. Awe at the Schnee Dust Company heiress tenacity and bravery as she charged in to take on the Grimm below.

Meanwhile, Jean and Jonas were quickly making preparations for the battle ahead. Jean, brandishing her Katanas and Jonas a barrier to help keep Jaune safe.

 **"** Jonas, is the barrier ready yet." Jean asked as she prepared her katanas. The Arc Husband nodded.

"Just a few more and…There!"

A golden light surrounded the box. Jonas, brandishing his hammer walked towards his wife. "Ready and set."

"Are you sure about that?"

Jonas glared at his wife. "Are you seriously asking that question? How long have we worked together? Just look around and tell me it isn't strong enough."

"Do you really think it will be enough to protect him?" She replied ignoring his glare.

"Not even a Goliath can break this barrier down. Now come on, lets help the Pop Idol clean house"

Jean looked around the gold light, studying it intensely, a sliver of doubt on her face.

"Come on!" Jonas groaned. "Do you really think I would do a half-assed job defending our son?"

"It's not that…" Jean said hesitantly. "Its…just…I have a bad feeling about this."

"The sooner we clean up, the quicker we can be back here to look after him."

"It's all right Mom. I'll be fine." Jaune urged. "That girl looks like she needs help"

She still looked hesitant. Jonas shook his head.

"Honey, Jaune will be fine. The Civilians down there won't be. You very well know how strong the barrier is. Even you can't break it. You've tried before remember?"

A screams of the crowd grew louder. Jean turned her head towards the audience. The Weiss girl was doing a fine job so far. At the rate she's going she'd be able to clear the room herself. Leaving her to do the job be just fine. But…

"Without our help there are going to be more civilian casualties. Again, Jaune will be fine. Those civilians below won't be"

Finally, the mother agreed and stepped on the balcony rail to get ready

"Stay safe son" Jean said. "Whatever you do, don't leave this barrier. Did you remember to bring Crocea Mars?"

He hadn't awakened is aura yet so he wouldn't be able to fight back effectively but every bit of defense was useful and may mean the difference between life and death.

"I have mom." Jaune responded, revealing his sword and shield. "Like always, I take it wherever I go. "

"Good" she replied. She hugged her son one more time before leaping on to the rail with her husband.

"Go get them."

Both Mother and Father smiled at their son's encouragement. Both of them jumped from the balcony and on to the ground readying their weapons.

 **III.**

 _Thrust_

 _Parry Left_

 _Parry Right_

It was intense for the younger Heiress. She was used to taking groups of Grimm before but the fact that there were civilian lives on the line made the engagement all the more stressing. She would slow down or being to panic every time she failed to save a civilian a Beowolf or DeathStalkers. She needed to end this battle quick.

A Beowolf nearly swiped her from behind when a sudden katana slash ended its life quickly. Weiss turned to her savior.

"We're here to help." Jean said materializing right beside her. Right behind her savior she spotted a group of the badger like Ursa approaching, ready to stampede over a small child. A huge burly man with a hammer landed in front of the child and swipe him the beasts with his hammer. He picked up the child and rushed his mother.

"What's the situation?" Jean asked. Before Weiss could answer, The woman activated her semblance and teleported behind a group of Beowolves decapitating them in one swift slash.

"The Grimm had sneaked in the Theatre. Don't ask me how." Weiss said, switching dust rounds on her Rapier. With the switch of the round she thrusts the ground causing a trail and beam of ice to make its way to a pack of Grimm approaching Jonas who was busying carrying an unconscious victim to safety. She relayed to them the rest of what her sister told her.

"Very well. We'll clear the auditorium and we'll go on to clear the hallways." Jean Confirmed

"Hey this will cake then." Jonas said with a smug grin. With one swing of the hammer he had obliterated a pack of Ursa."

" **ARHGGHGGHGHH!** "

The loud wail caused the entire theatre to stop. The left over Grimm stopped attacking, the audience found themselves stunned. Only the trio of hunters were active their bodies tensing up and preparing for the worst.

At the center of the stage, a giant hulking Grimm wearing knights armor materialized. The creature walked off the stage, its every footstep causing the entire auditorium to shake violently.

"You just had to say that dear husband." Jean said sardonically. Jonas frowned.

"It's not like every time I say that, a big baddie shows up."

"Oh I know. It doesn't happen every time. It only happened in the last two hundred missions we were assigned. Don't look at me like that. I keep count!"

Meanwhile, Weiss was looking at the pair as if they were insane. Maybe arguing during life and death situations was a normal thing for more seasoned Hunters.

"I don't know what went on during your missions but right now we have more pressing concerns."

"Right…" Jonas said, his attention turning to the new Grimm. His eyes traced every detail of the armored Grimm that appeared before them. "This one looks and feels familiar. Wait a minute." He frowned. "I think he's that same Grimm we tried tracking at that Research Facility."

"You're right." Jean said, preparing her Katanas. "What on earth is it doing here?"

The Knightly Grimm raised its blade and pointed it towards the theatre box and roared.

 **"ARGGHHG AHGHH AGHGH"**

"Is that thing trying to talk? It looks like it's trying to say something." Weiss said bewildered. "How can anybody understand that thing?"

"That's not the most pressing concern." Jonas said.

"That box that Grimm is pointing at. It's where our son is seated!"

 **IV.**

Jaune had heard many stories about the Grimm from his family and any Hunters he's had a chance to talk to when he worked as a busboy at a local cafe during summer break. None of what they told him could have prepared him for the death and destruction he saw unfolding before him. What truly caught him off guard though was when the Knightly Grimm pointed its blade at him and spoke.

"You there!" The Knight said. His voice was cold and at the same time blood thirsty. "I can sense it! Bring it out! Bring out your Persona!"

Jaune looked at the Grimm in confusion. How was it talking?

"How can anybody understand that thing?" He overheard the Heiress say. Jaune frowned for a moment. _What did she mean? I can understand that thing perfectly._

"What are you waiting for?" The Knight yelled. "Call it forth!"

"What?"

"Your Persona! The power of humanity's will expressed. The power to surpass gods. Call it forth!"

The young teen could only look him in confusion.

"Fine, if you won't do it; I'll force you!"

The Knightly Grimm, roared and with its roar hundreds of more Grimm materialized at his side; Packs of Beowolves and Ursa charged at the three hunters below, keeping them away from The Knightly Grimm was prepared its attack.

With one giant leap the Grimm Knight took one giant swing and shattered the barrier protecting Jaune.

 **V.**

"Jaune!" Jean yelled, her eyes filled with horror. The normally calmed and composed Huntress was now in a panic. The warrior closed her eyes and mustering all her will to teleport. "Why isn't it working?"

"Calm down Jean. Your semblance can only work if you keep your emotions in check." Jonas reminded her forcefully. It was a little unnerving for the Arc Father to see his wife panicked. Such a thing hadn't happened in years. It was understandable of course. This was the first time she witnessed one of her children being in danger.

The Knightly Grimm landed, the earth shook. It bent its knees and prepared for another jump. The Trio of Hunters attempted to make their way to the titan of a beast to prevent them from killing Jaune but they were soon swarmed by the Knight's reinforcements. Jonas could have sworn they were preventing them from helping him.

"Are they actually blocking us?" Weiss asked. In her experience the Grimm have never really acted so intelligently.

"Let me try teleporting to him again!"

"Your emotions are still a mess Jean." Jonas grimaced. He wanted to help their son just as badly. "We'll have to fight our way to that thing."

"It'll be too late." Jean said. It was their only option at the moment though. The Trio charged towards the knight with Weiss making more head way due to her light and speedy attack style. By the time they reached the knight though it was too late.

It made one giant leap and struck at the box.

 **VI.**

 _Dodge right!_ A voice screamed in his head

The Teen reacted, barely dodging the giant sword. It cleaved half of the box and the supposedly sealed door behind him. His heart pumping, his nerves ablaze from the attack. His eyes quickly darted around looking for escape. A breathed in relief, as he spotted a hole in the wall left by the attack. As the Knight landed on the ground, Jaune quickly made his way through the hole that was left by the attack.

While his parents did tell him to stay here. Jaune highly doubted that they expected Jonas' barrier to be shattered in an instant.

So he ran through the corridors flooded with Grimm and Schnee security doing battling with them. His legs taking him as far away from the room as possible.

 **VII**.

Maternal and Paternal instincts were both a blessing and a curse. They can push parents to their utmost limits to protect their children or they could be the fatal flaw that got either got them killed or placed them at a severe disadvantage.

Unfortunately, it was the former this time. While normally Jean would be able to take on these numerous weak class of Grimm in a single blow, her urgency and loss of composure resulted in the loss of control over her semblance which resulted with her being overwhelmed and swarmed by the Grimm. Luckily, instead of being killed, she was knocked out instead. Jonas had to place a barrier over her to protect her.

Jonas wasn't doing much better as he was just as stressed their son's fate as she was. He was struggling to maintain the barrier over his wife at the same time clearing a group of Grimm from a sector of the theatre.

The only moment he was of stressed was when he realized the Armored Grimm's attack had missed Jaune.

Strange enough, after he made the attack, the Armored Grimm vanished once again. He'd normally wonder that monster would do such a thing but he had more pressing concerns now. Concerns about the reinforcements it summoned to take place of the ones they've vanquished earlier.

Taking a deep breath, he forced his mind to calm down. He did this in order to activate his semblance's secondary ability. One he did he let out a sigh of relief.

"He's still alive." He said relieved

"How do you know that?" Weiss asked confused.

"When I place a barrier to protect a living creature, I form an empathetic link with said creature," Jonas explained "In the case my son. I know he's alive."

He grimaced, as he cleared a group of bird Grimm with his Hammers Gatling Gun form. He wanted to ensure his son's safety. However, this new swarm of Grimm was quickly killing more civilians. Jonas' mind worked furiously as considered all his options. When he eyed Weiss, an idea came to him. It was a giant leap of faith on his part but what other choice was there. After a few more moments of deliberation he made his decision.

"I want you to do a favor me. I'm going to activate my Semblances Trump ability. Once I do so, all the Grimm in this room are going to die. However, I'll be out of aura and most likely be unconscious. I need you to go after my son and protect him."

"I can contact my sister and…"

"By then, it will be to late." He said quickly "He hasn't gotten far so you should be able to reach him quickly."

"What if your semblance doesn't work?"

Jonas simply smiled. "It will work. Trust me."

"But my sister said…"

"I'll take full responsibility if that's what you're worried about." Jonas said. "Please . My son…"

All logic dictated that she should refuse his order and stay and help clear away the Grimm. However, seeing his worry and his desperate eyes, a stronger part of her wanted to do what he asked.

"Trust me" He said.

When he said that, something within in Weiss ignited. That word _trust._ Such a simple word but it carried a certain weight to it. Since the beginning of her training she was taught to trust any hunting team she was with. Trust was an important factor in a battle which could mean the difference between life and death. It was a leap of faith for her as well but considering seeing how well he powerful the Huntsmen was a good part of her felt that it may not be misplaced faith. After some more deliberation she finally agreed.

"I'll do it." She said."I'll bring him back safe. I promise."

"Thank you ." The Huntsmen said. He took one more look around at the army of Grimm closing in on their position. "When I release my power, make your move and go!"

He smiled and he raised his hammer up in the air. A red field of energy appeared around his body. The entire room flashed red, the battle was soon to end.

 **VIII.**

It had been a while since the young Arc had literally run so hard in his land. The last time remembered running this hard was during a track competition the city was having last summer. He didn't even know where he was going.

He cared little for destination though. The moment he rushed into the hallways he found himself chased by three round shaped floating Grimm. In hindsight, not watching where he was going proved a fate mistake for the blond youth. The direction he was going was taking him farther and farther away from where Hunters were fighting.

"Come on! Go after the Hunters, not me!" He groaned as he ran down a flight of marble stairs. Every time had darted into the room, he thought would be safe from those Grimm but wherever he went they would somehow find him. He was running out of breath and out of time. The only solace he is the fact that the section of the theater he found himself in was oddly empty.

He was finally cornered at a Hallway that was still under construction. He was sweating profusely, and his knees were aching. The Grimm stopped just a few feet away from him as if they were waiting for something.

The Son of two well renowned hunters was on his last legs. Was it like this all the time for his parents and sisters? Did death face them on every mission they have ever fought in? He looked at the three monsters before him, the sound of his heart pounding becoming louder and louder. With shaking hands he pulled his sword Crocea Mars and transformed his arm brace into his shield.

 _I'm a coward, I'm a fake, I'm a fool._ He thought to himself. He had spent half his life desiring to follow in the family tradition but now that he had seen first hand what a Huntsmen's life would be like, he no longer desired it. Maybe that's why Jaune's parents were relieved that he failed to get into a Hunter's School. They probably knew he wasn't cut out for this line of work. A normal hunter wouldn't be pissing his pants at the sight of these three Grimm.

The blade on his grip tightened and he readied himself. He imitated a fighting stance that one his sisters had whenever she was sparring one of her other siblings. He felt pathetic imitating his sister yet…

"Fear was no longer on option. Dwelling on my flaws was no longer an option. I'll have to _accept_ them and move forward and survive." He said more to himself then to the enemies ahead of him. He was still scared out of his mind and it took all his resolution just to hold on to his blade. Then something mysterious happened. Something he hadn't expected.

"That was very w _ell said,"_ A voice echoed in his head.

He felt something in his chest warm of. His body began to glow blue, the vision of the room and the Grimm fading before his sight and it was quickly replaced with a vision of something else.

In this vision he was in a completely white room with seven people standing around him. They were all looking at him as if he was a student and they were his teachers. One of them began to speak.

"Look ahead but remember to look behind you as well." The first person to speak was a dark haired boy wearing a grey longed sleeve shirt with grey pants.

"Remember, that you're never truly alone." A red haired man wearing a red jogging outfit said. "The bonds you form will be your salvation."

"Always keep a positive outlook." A girl next to the red haired man said. She had short dark hair, a brown and beige jacket with hearts on its center and a beige skirt. "Even when things are at their darkest, their will always be that light of hope at the end."

"Death is not something to be feared." The blue haired boy with a school uniform said. "It's something to be accepted. But so long as you're still alive you can still fight."

"You've accepted the truth and faced your fears" A silver haired boy wearing a jacket and white shirt said. "Because of that you can now fulfill the deepest wishes of your heart."

"Splendid!" A man with a white mask and black trench coat spoke. The tone of his voice was both booming and ecstatic "After several millennia of waiting, another final awakens. Go forth now! For the sake of the justice that's been lost in this era, bring retribution among the blasphemers. Bring freedom to the imprisoned."

"Go ahead." A soft voice called from behind him. Jaune turned his head and to his surprise he found Mariko looking at him expectantly. She was dressed differently this time though. She had a plaid skirt. A white sleeveless dress shirt, a blue hat, and a kindly smile. "Remember: The more you put in, the more you get out!"

With that, the vision had faded and he found himself back in the room surrounded by the round shaped Grimm. The blue pillar of light that surrounded him shined even brighter, A blue card floated from above and slowly descended towards him.

He was no longer afraid. He was ready now and so he spoke that words that haven't been spoken for thousands of years.

"Per…" The Grimm, tensed and readied themselves. "So…" They charged at him "Na!" The card entered his palm and with one tight clench, he crushed the card. A figure emerged from the card and wind filled the room, nearly blowing the three Grimm away.

The figure in question looked magnificent. He was wearing chainmail with a brown cloak around his neck. He had a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. He was wearing a helmet that was on his face. The helmet itself was adorned with a golden Crown.

 **"I am thou! Thou art I! From the Sea of thy Soul I cometh, I am Merovech, The Warrior King! From this point on your comrades are my comrades. Your enemies are my enemies. For the sake of truth and justice, let us smite those enemies together."**

For the first time since this entire incident, Jaune smiled. It was fierce and determined. There was hope and the chance to final reach out and grab it for himself.

 **Author's Note**

 _It feels like I'm on a roll for this story! Well aware I said in the last chapter that I would have Jaune meet Weiss in the this chapter but as mentioned previously, I try to keep the word count limit to 4,000. I'll likely stop trying to give a hint of what goes on in a chapter because I seem to be changing my mind a lot when it comes writing the next chapter._

 _Anyway read and review. I'm really interested in inputs for the fight scenes. I rarely write any fights and when I do they always feel kind of off so I appreciate any feed back you can give. This one especially was kind of tricky because there several things going on in that auditorium._

 _Enjoy the chapter and I'll see you when the next part of this story comes out._

 _Happy New Year!_


	4. I wasn't expecting my debut to be so hot

" **I wasn't really expecting my debut to be so hot."**

The past two days for Headmaster Ozpin had been headache inducing. First was a report from his friend Qrow about a movement in the criminal underworld and an up and coming manipulator rising its ranks, then there was discovering the Schnee Corporation researching an illegal sample of dust that augmented and mutated Grimm. Any evidence he recovered about the experiments wasn't even enough to indict the corporation of any wrong doing.

Now, there was an emergency call out to all Huntsmen and Huntresses in the city and once again, the center of all his headaches was the Schnee corporation. There's a Grimm attack on one of the company's theatre and naturally Ozpin would once again be pulled into whatever troubles involved the company.

After receiving the call, he got into his helicopter and with coffee in hand, arrived at the site of the attack fifteen minutes later. The perimeter of the building was already swarmed by a mixture of local police, Huntsmen and Huntresses and much to his displeasure, Director Calvin and his Schnee private security force.

He was currently arguing with Ozpin's assistant Glinda Goodwitch: A blond woman with round framed glasses, a black and purple cloak, and almost always wearing a stern expression. When she made eye contact with the silver haired headmaster she let out a brief sigh of relief.

"Ozpin, there you are. here wants to relieve the Hunter Unit and allow the Schnee private security forces to handle the situation." Glynda said, giving The Director a scornful look.

"We don't need Huntsmen and Huntresses destroying more Schnee property." The Director protested.

"That facility wouldn't have been decimated had you not been researching that…"

"How dare you!" Calvin interrupted. "Such an accusation… You have no proof that…"

"Ahem!" Ozpin coughed. The pair looked at the headmaster expectantly. "Be that as it may; Right now, our top priority is the safety of the civilians within the theatre. , once again I must remind you that in the event of a Grimm attack, all authority is handed to members of Hunter HQ."

"In other words." Glynda scowled. "You and your subordinates have no business being here!"

"And you have no authority to enter Schnee corp property." Calvin interjected.

"On the contrary," Ozpin said calmly. "It was Winter Schnee who personally called Hunter HQ and requested our aid. I'd say being an heir to the Corporation provides her more then sufficient authority."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee while Calvin processed what he just said.

"You're lying! How can she be here? I would've received word of her attending the concert."

"She came here incognito. She likely didn't want her arrival to overshadow her sister's debut. It's a rather touching sentiment don't you think?"

"But…b-"

"Now, If you excuse us Director…" He beckoned Glynda to follow him, and walked towards the Mobile Command Center.

 **II**

The Mobile Command Center or M.C.C was actually a large truck adorned with camouflage. Inside the truck, there was a variety of equipment used for monitoring Hunter Operations. There were display screens showing footage and data that's being streamed and captured by probes sent out into the hot zones.

"Status Report?" Ozpin asked. All of the technicians in the room along with a couple of officers turned their heads towards the Headmaster.

"Squads Alpha and Delta have managed to evacuate four out of the eight floors in the building Headmaster." An officer said looking at his own monitor. "However, we've encountered a problem sir."

"I had feeling you would?" Ozpin responded. "What kind of problem?"

"An Armored Grimm with the ability to teleport had materialized and brought hundreds of more Grimm into the building with him."

"Well,that explains how Grimm got back through the city's fortification at least." Glynda said looking at monitor.

"Wait." Ozpin said as he was looking over the photos of the Armored Grimm. "This is the same Armored Grimm that escaped the Purge from the Research Facility."

"How can you be certain?" Glynda asked.

"Armored Types like that are rare in this Kingdom." Ozpin explained. "In fact, it's been ten years since an Armored Knight appeared in the area. I don't believe in coincidences. This has to be the same one. Officer. Are there any other abilities it's displayed?"

"It's highly intelligent and can command the lesser Grimm. Alpha One had a quick skirmish with it and noticed it's ability to adapt to her tactics and attacks. That thing knows when to retreat if an engagement puts him at great disadvantage."

"Fascinating, Any flaws you've identified."

"Only one so far and that's its teleportation ability; When it first materialize, it become vulnerable for ten-seconds. While a Huntsmen or Huntress would be able to do significant damage in that amount of time, it commands Grimm to hold off such attempts while it regains its bearings."

Ozpin frowned. Intelligent Grimm were always the most difficult to deal with as their combat prowess was on par with that of a Hunter. They're able to adapt to any situation and any battle they survived would make them stronger. The headmaster grimaced. If they don't kill it now then it will grow into something menacing in the future.

"Sir!" An officer spoke, snapping The headmaster after his thoughts. "Incoming Transmission from Jonas Arc! He says he needs to speak with you."

"So he did decide to attend after all." Ozpin replied with a smile. He knew the Huntsmen well enough. "Glad his Radio is functioning. Put him on the line."

"Ozpin, So you've arrived."

"Indeed old friend; What can I do for you."

"I need you to send a Squad to the Auditorium and defend it. I've used the Purification component of my Semblance and I'm running low on Aura. The Grimm in the auditorium may have all been eliminated but I'm not sure if the monster that brought them will be back for more."

"We'll need to neutralize that Grimm as soon as possible," Ozpin agreed then he frowned. He's worked with Jonas long enough to know that his Semblance's Trump ability was normally only used during the final stretches of an engagement. "Using your Trump so early in the battle though…"

"My Wife was knocked out and more civilians were getting killed and my son was forced out of the Auditorium because of the Armored Knight's offensive. I had to make a call."

"I'll see if I can find any spare Huntsmen to help you then." Ozpin said and told one of his officers to locate any Huntsmen or Huntresses on stand by.

"There's one more thing Headmaster." Jonas said. "I've sent Weiss Schnee to bring back my son. Can you use one of your probes to locate them and make sure they're okay?"

"Of course." Ozpin responded. He nodded to an officer who typed an order to nearby probe.

"Sir! There is new Aura detected in sector three."

The old Huntsmen frowned. That was strange, he thought all Hunters were accounted for. Even the apprentice and Rookies should have been marked.

"Identify."

"Jaune Arc."

"And he has an Aura?"

"The Probe on sight is state of the art. There's no mistake about it."

He sipped his coffee. The last thing he heard about the boy was that he was having trouble getting into a Combat School. It couldn't really be helped since his parents refused to teach him.

"What's his status?"

"He's currently engaging three Grimm."

"Place it on screen."

The screen displaying live combat footage, shifted channels to a blond teenager getting ready to strike at three Grimm. With him was a taller figure. The figure was humanoid and armored with a spear and a shield. The most notable feature of him though was the fact that he was floating.

Another notable thing was the three Grimm who were attacking them themselves. Ozpin recognized the Grimm as Halabaries. He had seen picture of them in history textbooks. They haven't been seen since before the Great War. First an Armored Knight with unique abilities, now a set of Grimm that haven't been seen in almost eighty years

Both the young man and the figure attacked these three Grimm causing Ozpin to shift his focus and appraise the young man's ability. His assessment: He was rough around the edges but with a little tutoring, he could actually be ready to enter a Combat School like Beacon.

Although he was curious, who actually taught him to fight if it wasn't his Jonas and Jean.

 **III**

This new power that had awakened within Jaune is strange. This Persona he called forth; He could see what it saw. Sense what it could sense. It even shared knowledge with him. Knowledge of the basics of combat and even knowledge of its capabilities. There was also one more thing. While he knows the Persona is apart of himself, he also felt that it was connected to something greater, something beautiful. It felt wonderful.

"Merovach!" He commanded "Lets go." Both Persona and Huntsmen charged forward; Jaune bashed his shield against one Halabarie knocking it away. He slashed one Halbarie closing in on him. It staggered back in response, its round body shaking in pain. Jaune decided to follow through his first attack by repeatedly hitting it with several slashes and strikes.

Another Grimm tried to flank the summoner but Merovach with a swift thrust of its spear killed it in a critical strike.

The Halabarie that Jaune knocked away recovered soon after. Both Persona and summoner looked at the creature attempting to avenge its comrades. Jaune pointed his blade at it.

"I am…" Jaune spoke.

"Thou!" Merovach bellowed.

 **"BUFU!"** They chanted in unison.

The temperature in the room dropped slightly and a block of ice manifested around the Halabarie, slowing it down, then causing it to collapse, then killing it in mere seconds.

"An impressive display." Jaune turned around to the source of the voice. A giant floating metal sphere with a red lens floated towards the Huntsmen in training. He recognized the device as a probe used by Hunters.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I am the Commander of this operation. My name is Ozpin."

"The Headmaster of Beacon?"

"The very same, your father had me send this probe to locate you. He was worried you know. Although, his worries were unfounded."

He smiled, his heart lifting at the compliment. To be praised by the Headmaster of Beacon, it was a bright moment in what was currently as horrible situation.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now that I've found you, I'll need you to follow this probe back to the Auditorium."

"Before I do that, I need to ask. Is my father okay?" Jaune asked eagerly.

"A little bit worse for wear but he and your mother will be fine. A team of Hunters should be there soon to help and secure them."

The blond teen internally fist pumped. This was possibly the best news he's heard since this incident began.

"Now then,lets get you back to…" Ozpin paused, something interrupting him. "Oh no…"

"What is it?"

"I need you to rendezvous with Weiss Schnee. She may be in danger!"

 **IV**

Weiss' eyes widened when she felt the earth shake and heard growls in the distance. The part of the theater she was running through had been empty and silent with next to no Grimm in sight. The young rookie Huntress felt he sense of urgency increase. She needed to find Jonas' son before the Grimm caught up to her.

 **"GRAGGHGH"**

The white haired girls instincts flared, as she caught sight of giant sword singing at her direction. She dodged gracefully and backed flipped to place distance between her and her attacker.

"You!"

 **"GAR GHAGAHG"**

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at his opponents growl. Before her presence was the Armored Knight Grimm. It was accompanied by Five Beowolfs and five Ursa.

The grip on her blade tightened as her mind quickly began working out how to take the creature out in the fastest way possible. Truthfully, she hadn't thought much about the Armored Knight since she left the Auditorium. In fact, she didn't expect that she would end up fighting the monster so soon after its first appearance. Now that he was here though, a certain fire had been lit within her. Instead of seeing The Armored Knight as enemy to be wary of; She saw the Grimm as an opportunity. She saw it as a chance to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was more then worthy to stand with The greatest of Huntsmen and Huntresses. The fact that she handled herself well during the first attack in the Auditorium, already did wonders for her confidence. Unfortunately, the Rookie Huntress had a lot to learn about being too over confident

 _If I take this thing out, this debut will be bigger then Winters!_ Weiss thought excitedly. _And if I rescue the son of a Veteran Huntsmen as well…everybody will know I'm more then worthy to succeed my father!_

With that in mind, she shifted her battle stance into one meant for more offensive maneuvers. The Armored Knight didn't make its move yet. In fact, it felt on its knees after its initial attack. The lesser Grimm that accompanied the Knight surrounded him, growling at the Huntress, daring her to try to attack her master.

But attack she did, she pushed off her back leg and charged forward, performing a flurry of thrusts. Three Ursa were dead and fading into oblivion. She was half way to her target when the remaining Grimm seemed to have become wise and aware of the Huntresses abilities; Their tactics changed at that moment.

The Grimm focused on surrounding Weiss, and keeping her as far away from their master. It was an effective strategy because every time she tried to push forward the Grimm surrounding her had managed to meet her strikes with equal vigor and tenacity.

She saw the Armored Knight getting ready move, its body shaking. The silver haired girl would have to settle with at least killing off the Grimm and confronting the Knight. One on one was better then eleven on one after all.

" **GARAGH GARHGH** " The Armored Grimm roared.

Weiss smirked inwardly as she charged forward.

 **V**

Ozpin had told him that The Armored Grimm had been detected on the floor through a passive scan and Weiss Schnee had done something either really brave or really stupid: She decided to confront that monster alone.

Jaune considered it brave because he had in his short time of watching Weiss in action felt that she was a Heroine out of legends. There was a certain grace and beauty in the way she fought. Ozpin, with all his experience as a Huntsmen considered the action foolhardy and reckless which is why he had ordered Jaune to locate Weiss and drag her with him to the auditorium.

Of course, getting to the silver haired Huntress became more difficult as Jaune ended up running into scores of Grimm in the Hallways.

"There was never any Grimm around when I ran through this floor." Jaune complained. A lot Grimm had appeared in the hallways the moment the Armored Knight materialized. It felt as if Jaune had spent more time slaying them then making any progress towards their destination.

It was a blessing in disguise though. He needed some time to adjust to his new powers or Semblance as his headmaster calls it. The more Grimm he had slain, the easier it was to control and command his Persona. It also helped that he had one of the Greatest Huntsmen of the past Generation advising him.

"Take a defensive stance when there are more them two Hostiles" Ozpin would suggest. "Stay aware of your surroundings. Look at your blind spots. Forgetting to look at those may mean the difference between life and death. Do not jump in unless you've fully gauged the enemy's capabilities."

It was certainly a crash course in the basics but it took only a couple of an engagements before it all clicked within the young Arc's mind. Whatever his so called semblance did, it allowed him grasp standard tactics easily.

By the time they got within Weiss' last reported location Jaune was as ready as a Rookie could be.

"That was very good ." Ozpin said as he watched the Huntsmen circle behind a Ursa and decapitated it. "You're a lot like your father. Life and death situations like this also forced him to grow beyond his limits."

Jaune nodded as a Grimm that looked like floating table with a blue mask came charging towards him.

 **"BUFU!"** Jaune chanted. Merovach froze the table, then impaled it his with its weapon. With that group of Grimm killed, Jaune took a moment to catch his breath "Some of these Grimm here are weird. I've seen documentaries about different types but I don't think I've ever seen some of the ones in this hallway."

The Grimm he encountered were unlike the ones that he had seen on T.V or read about. Along with the Beowolf and Ursa that he had slain, there were those round big mouthed Grimm he fought earlier, a tiny fairy looking one with a pink mask and wings, and a pathetic looking Grimm that looked like a pile of menacing slime.

"There are Grimm here who haven't appeared since before the Great War." Ozpin explained. "Some of the others haven't even been cataloged."

Jaune simply nodded as he took one more breath before he decided to continue onward.

"All right, I'm rested. Where is she now?"

"Performing scan," Ozpin said, set of beeps and clicks could be heard from the probe. "She's coming your way! In fact she should be…"

Before the veteran Huntsmen could complete his sentence, the walls a few feet away from the Jaune were broken and shattered causing a giant cloud of dust to flood through area. Jaune was forced to hide in the corner and ready his weapon.

Sounds of metal clashing against metal could be heard the distance. There was also the sound of grunts and groans. When the smoke had finally cleared, Jaune could see the battle clearly. Weiss Schnee looked like she had the Armored Grimm on the ropes. So far she had been able to avoid every swing and strike directed her. In fact, since the battle began she's managed to land every single strike on it without any problems. She's even managed to avoid any counters he had to those attacks. It was obvious that she had the advantage in speed and precision, while the Grimm's only advantage was its enormous level strength and the range of its giant sword.

"Something doesn't seem right." Ozpin said.

"Really? It looks like she has that thing on the ropes."

"That's the entire problem, Up until now, it's been avoiding prolonged battles with any Hunters its encountered."

"Do think it has a trick up its sleeve?"

"I don't know, I'll have the scouting probe preform another scan." Ozpin spoke. The line on the other end went silent for a few minutes leaving Jaune to marvel at the latest flurry of combos.

"Oh no,"Ozpin said. "Jaune, you have to prepare yourself!"

"What is it?"

"That Armored Knight is about to change!"

 **VI.**

 _This is easy!_ Weiss internally cheered. Every hit she landed on the Armored Knight felt like a step closer to victory. A side there, a thrust in the gaps in its armor and the knight seemed to become weaker and weaker, until finally he was back on his knees. After one more swing of its blade, the silver haired girl dodged backwards, a glyph appearing at the bottom of her feet. With the glyphs effect, she jumped high, almost reaching the ceiling of the hallway and changed dust rounds of her Rapier. Another glyph appeared behind her, and using her legs, she pushed off it and charged the Armored Knight.

It was supposed to be a simple finisher but something went wrong. The temperature in the room rose, The Knightly Grimm's Armor colored changed into hot red and orange. Just as she was about to land her final attack a sudden explosion of fire flooded the hallways, blowing her away from her enemy and knocking her prone.

The Armored Grimm stood up, its body now glowing and emitting heat. It sword now transformed into fire.

 **"GRAG HAR ARGHG"** It growled.

"What do you want with me!" A voice called up behind her.

Weiss turned around to saw who was talking. The Huntress in training frowned as she got a looked at the guy who spoke. The resemblance was unmistakable, he resembled his mother with the key difference being he had his father's eyes. That was definitely Jaune Arc.

Something was really weird though. The blond teen before her was actually speaking to the Grimm. Not only that but there was a creature with him. It felt like Jaune at the same time it wasn't. Whatever accompanied him also felt similar to the Grimm.

 _Wait_ Weiss frowned. _Is his semblance the same as mine?_ _Can he summon an avatar? Where did he defeat a Grimm like that? I thought he wasn't a Huntsmen?_

 **VII**

"Why to see if the legends are true." The Armored Knight said to Jaune. "I've waited so long for this moment."

"Jaune what are you doing." Ozpin asked the young teen.

"What does it look like? I'm talking to him."

"You can understand that creature?"

"Can't you?"

"It sounds like growls and roars to me and the rest of my staff at this end."

The Armored one rose to its feet, and readied its blade.

"Come now! Son of Man! Lets us see if you are worthy of that power!"

"Jaune, I suggest you don't directly engage it. Grab and get as far away from here as possible."

Jaune readied his stance, his mind working furiously on how best to escape. First day as a Rookie and now he's been both metaphorically and literally tossed into the fire. He literally hoped the Headmaster of Beacon had a better plan then grab the girl and run.

"Jaune!" Ozpin yelled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!"

Jaune's head turned to Weiss who was looking at him intently. It may be a life threatening situation but all of the sudden the teen felt self-conscious.

There was no time to worry about such trivial things though as the Armored Knight got ready for its attack. It swung its blade and from its arc, a stream of flames sliced through the hallways. Jaune dodged to the nearest safe spot with the scouting probe following his lead closely. Weiss, with her speed, managed to get behind a nearby column.

"You're Jaune Arc right?" Weiss asked, while looking apprehensively at the glowing red Grimm

"I am." Jaune replied. He had Merovech fly and hide behind a Gargoyle in order to get a better look at the Armored Knight and then he turned to the Probe. "You're obviously Weiss Schnee. I loved the concert by the way."

Through his shared vision with his Persona, He saw the Armored Grimm begin to walking towards him, opening ups his guard as if he were daring him to attack.

"Thanks." Weiss responded, switching dust rounds. "I wasn't really excepting my debut to be this hot. Any idea on how we're going to get out of this?"

"Ozpin?" Jaune said nervously to the probe. "Weiss is with me now. Any ideas to escape would be great right about now."

Those ten-seconds the probe was silent was probably the most painful ten-seconds in the blond youth's life.

"I have a plan but it's risky. The Grimm, seems to be fixated on you so simply running away may not be simple. What you'll need to do is…"

He explained the plan which causing the color to drain from the Jaune's face. Weiss was looking at the probe as if it was malfunctioning.

"That's a lot of faith you're placing in us." Weiss finally said.

"That's practically a suicide mission!" Jaune blurted out. "You're asking for a miracle!"

"I'm asking your to be Hunters." Ozpin said meaningfully.

Jaune closed his eyes tightly, feeling the heart beat pound loudly in his chest. He was even more terrified then when he was running away from the Grimm earlier yet…

He had a resolved to move forward. It would be worse then dying if he fell back into cowardice.

"Fine." Jaune said resolutely. "Lets go."

"Are you sure? You look like you're about to burst." Weiss responded worriedly.

"I am. I'm scared out of my mind. Who wouldn't be? I've just awakened my power and I'm also just getting the hang of this whole fighting thing. I'm in over my head!"

"Then why go along?"

He looked up at his Persona, and his Persona looking down at him. Through its eyes he saw himself.

"Because I want to move forward. I want to live."

At those words, the silver haired Heiress leveled an unreadable look at him. It made him feel uncomfortable. He also felt his face going red although that may have to do with the hallway being on fire.

"I want to move forward as well." Weiss said, and then she smiled. "I have your back. We'll do this together."

With those words, the teen felt his heart lighten and for a brief yet significant moment, he felt that any thing was possible with someone like Weiss watching his back.

And so, both Huntsmen and Huntress came out of where they're hiding and prepared their weapons.

Regardless of outcome of this plan, one thing was for sure. They were in for one hell of a battle.

 **Author's Note**

That was certainly dozy of a chapter. I've actually had to delete and re-do entire sections for this chapter if you can believe it but I'm satisfied with the result. The only problem I felt was Jaune's fighting display compared to what I've shown of Weiss. I admit I did tend to focus on Weiss a little to much. I plan to rectify that for the next chapter and give Jaune more moments to shine.

My only true concern about this chapter was Weiss characterization. I tried to display her as overconfident by having her deciding to take on the Armored Grimm alone earlier but it felt a little inconsistent with what happened towards the end when she decides to go along with Ozpin's plan. I'll probably flesh out her thoughts on the matter more in the next chapter to create more consistency.

So, as always, read and review and I'll see you next chapter!


	5. An honest heart and the courage

" **An honest soul and courage to face your fears."**

While maintaining his composure, Ozpin watched the screen as the Armored Grimm became super hot and let out a fury of flames in the hallway.

"Ozpin! Weiss is with me right now, any ideas to escape would be great right about now!"

"Attention all Huntsmen and Huntresses," Glynda said quickly through her comm, "the Armored Knight has been sighted. I repeat: The Armored Grimm has been sighted." Her head turned to the radar tracking all the Hunter Teams. "Are there any squads which we can pull to pursue it?"

"I'm afraid not." Ozpin spoke up. Glynda looked at her superior horrified. "All the teams are tied down with clearing out the floors. If we pull even one squad out, the amount civilian casualties will rise."

"Then I'll go myself." Glynda said turning around to leave but Ozpin grabbed her shoulder.

"That won't be necessary."

"You can't be serious headmaster! They're going to die if we leave them alone."

"Look how far away they are and look how crowded the hallways are. You're going to spend more time fighting Grimm then actually getting to their location. By the time you reach them the battle will already be over. Besides you're needed here."

"So you're going to leave them to die?"

"Oh far from it," The headmaster said with a calm smile. "They're going to live."

"You have a plan?"

"I'm going to come up with one."

"You're going to come up with a way to save two rookies from an unpredictable and incredibly strong foe who is about to attack them at any moment?" Glynda asked disbelievingly.

"You forget what my Semblance is professor." Ozpin replied sipping his coffee. He gathered power and his aura flared. "You also forget, that coming up with a plan in a pinch happens to be my specialty."

With that said he closed his eyes and activated his Semblance: Time manipulation. It was ability he had used countless times to come up with a means to ensure victory. It can create a special force field around an area of Ozpin's choosing and within that field he could speed up or slow down time. This time, he placed the field around his body, speeding time therefore enhancing his perception and allowing his mind to think of a plan quickly and swiftly.

So, his mind began to work furiously. It worked like a computer, pooling all the pertinent data and organizing and re-arranging it in order to find the ideal solution:

 _Enemy Advantage: Range of weapon, super heated armor, size, teleportation and Unpredictability of both tactics and abilities._

 _Enemy Disadvantage: Size, weakened after teleportation, fixation on Jaune Arc, Mobility and speed._

 _Our Advantage: Weiss_ _'s experience, Weiss's Semblance, Familiarity with Terrain, Weiss' speed, Number of fighters on hand. Weiss's Dust rounds._

 _Our Disadvantage: Jaune_ _'s inexperience, Flaws of Jaune's_ _Semblance_ _yet to be discovered._

 _Terrain Analysis: Hard stone floors, water pipes in the ceiling, Part of the Hallway currently on fire._

 _Compiling data…_

 _Forming possible solutions…_

Time had returned to normal for the Ozpin as a plan finally took form in his mind. He felt his knees weaken and almost fell to side but was caught by Goodwitch. Time Manipulation was taxing to the body. One of the reasons why he ended up becoming headmaster was because of how of a toll it took on him. He may not look it but he was getting older and prolonged uses of it at his age would have greatly shortened his life span. It was the main reason he didn't go him self and use it to get to where Jaune and Weiss were. Time Manipulation on that scale would've made him useless against the Armored Knight.

"I have a plan but it's risky. You're going to fight." Ozpin, said over the probe's comm.

Ozpin could practically hear the metaphorical pin drop. He couldn't blame the kid. He asked for a means of escape but instead he was asking him to fight. Something he knew very well Jaune wasn't accustomed to.

"I'm sorry what?" The teen responded.

"The Grimm is fixated on you. Simply running away isn't enough. What you'll need to do is kill it. That's the only way to move forward and escape. Here is my plan…"

The plan was elegant and simple. It made the best use of terrain available as well as the use of the rookies abilities and available equipment. Manipulate the location, strike critical pressure points to weaken or force the enemy into a disadvantageous position and finally finish it off. The only unknown variables were if the Armored knight had any additional abilities and any weaknesses concerning Jaune's semblance.

"No plan survives contact with the enemy Headmaster." Glynda reminded him after he finished speaking to them.  
"I know Glynda. But sometimes victory takes more then brute force and a brilliant plan." Ozpin replied, as he watched the pair walking towards the enemy. "Sometimes victory relies on a something far simpler."

"And what would that be?"

"An honest heart and the courage to face you fears." Ozpin smiled. The two amateurs had both in spades and despite his lack of experience, Jaune Arc was quickly proving to be a competent fighter on the field. Depending on how this trial by fire goes, the Headmaster might just consider inviting him to Beacon along with Weiss.

 **II.**

 _Three steps…Follow these three steps and your victory may be insured._

 _Step 1: Neutralize the enemies territorial advantage._

Jaune recalled Ozpin's words. Following the plan to the letter was right now important . It was great deal of trust he was placing in towards a person he barely knew but since he got him through this battle alive so far The headmaster of Beacon had more then earned his trust.

So, he held his blade tightly as he walked towards the Grimm, a determined look on his face. Weiss was at his side, looking just as determined. Merovech was up top gliding towards the Armored Knight.

"Finally going to confront me now son of Man." The Armored Knight asked.

 _Keeping him talking, once Merovech is in position strike!_

"Who and what are you?" The blond asked causing Weiss to look at her partner curiously. There was no doubt that the silver haired heiress was still confused about his Jaune's ability to speak with Grimm.

"I am a shadow, a being born from the darkest corners of humanity's heart. I represent the will to seek and conquer a challenge."

"A shadow…" Jaune repeated. Merovech was almost in position. He readied his shield and Weiss followed suit with her rapier.

"Indeed! That is our original name Son of Man. Humanity has long since forgotten what we are and instead they invent fairy tales about our origins. Grimm is an apt description of what we do but such a description can never really describe what we truly embody. "

"So all those people in the theatre. They died because you wanted some kind thrill?"

"Those with the power of Persona had destroyed gods, and defied fate. They've even shaped the world you've stand on. The lives of such nobodies held no such meaning to me when it comes to my search for a challenge."

Jaune simply glared at him. Through Merovech's eyes, he saw that the persona arrived at his destination. Now he needed to pick the right time to strike. Lucky for him, such an opportunity was about to come.

The Armored Grimm stopped his movement, and readied its blade by raising it over his shoulder. "Enough talk, son of man let us begin."

' _I'm way ahead of you'_ Jaune muttered under his breath and Merovech made his move. With the Persona's immense strength, it sliced open the ceiling, not only exposing the pipes but slicing into pieces. Water fell from the sky like heavy rain. The fires on the floor were soon smothered and drowned out.

As for the Armored Grimm, It was temporarily surprised but soon recovered its composure, charging forward like nothing had happened. The Huntsmen in training noted that despite the sudden bout of rain, its armor was steaming and still glowing a hot orange. They were going to have to do something about that.

Jaune looked over at his partner and nodded. Weiss returned the nod and switched to a blue dust round for her rapier.

 _Territorial advantage negated. Begin Step two…_

 **III**

Weiss took one deep breath before she got into position. With a sharp look at her opponent she stabbed the rapier on the ground. All the water in the vicinity turned to ice and heavy rain soon turned to heavy snow. The ground was frozen making it harder to walk on. The Armored Grimm was stunned again, but continued forward anyway this time charging at the pair. It's Armor was no longer glowing orange.

With her opening gambit done, Weiss proceeded to the next phase of this battle

 _Step 2: Weaken the enemy._

The second step was straight forward enough. All they had to do was attack and reduce its defenses. The Weiss and Jaune met the knight head on, both of them of attacking it with a ferocity and vigor befitting two Hunters. The blond focused on attacking low thus limiting its movements while Weiss kept attacking from the air making full use of her platform glyphs. Merovach was being held back by Jaune in preparation for the third the step.

For while, it felt like they were making progress. The Armored Grimm looked like It was yielding to the pairs attacks. That was until its Armor began to heat up again. When it did, Weiss found herself knocked prone and Jaune had to intervene by blocking its horizontal swing with his shield.

"Weiss get ready." Jaune yelled.

Weiss nodded and rolled back, and switching dust rounds another glyph appearing at her feet.

 **IV**

Merovach raised its spear, the moment The Armored Knight began to heat up, was the moment he made his move.

 **"BUFU!"**

The Knight found itself encased in ice. From above and behind the creature of Grimm the Persona struck down with all its might at his enemy, his spear piercing through ice and actually penetrating its think armor.

It was annoyed now. Using its enormous strength, it broke out of the ice coffin and struggled to remove Merovach's speak from its body but the persona wouldn't let that that happen.

The persona held his position as The Armored Knight tried to reach behind and swap Jaune's alternate self like a fly.

Jaune in turn took the opportunity to try out another ability granted by his Semblance.

" **RAKUNDA**!" He bellowed.

A purple light appeared around the Armored Grimm, He didn't know whether or not the effect would be visible but He did know for sure that what he used would lower his opponents defense, opening up the Armored Grimm for more attacks.

' _Almost there'_ Jaune whispered to himself. _'One more push and…"_

 **"Enough of this!"** The Armored knight bellowed.

The Armored Grimm grew hot orange an explosion of fire and ash erupted from his body blowing both Merovach and Jaune back, knocking both Persona and Summoner into different directions.

The Huntsmen had endured a lot beatings from Grimm during his first few fights in the hallways but none hurt as much as that explosion of fire. It was strange, it was as if his Semblance was weak against that kind of attack.

"Oh no! Jaune! Jaune!" Weiss screamed.

 **V**

As Goodwitch mentioned before, no plan really survives contact with the enemy. Weiss watched in horror as Jaune was knocked back several feet, flying past her which resulted in Merovech vanishing and leaving blue dust and light in his wake.

"Jaune get up!" She yelled, stopping what she was doing and rushed towards the unconscious Huntsmen. "This is no time to be napping you moron. We have to finish this fight!"

Her eyes began to water. _No for the love of god not when we were so close!_

" **GRAGHGH ARHGHGH** _ **!"**_

Weiss' attention was drawn to the Armored Knight, his armor was no longer glowing. Whatever ability the creature used appeared to have a major drawback. It caused the monster to lose its heated armor. It was a now a normal metallic color. If possible the Grimm looked as tired as the pair.

It lifted its blade, its knees bent. He was about ready to attack again, causing the silver haired heiress' heart to pound harder and harder. She was tired, low on aura, and with the loss of her partner, she took a heavy hit to her morale.

However, if she didn't move now, then both her life and Jaune's would be in jeopardy. Without even thinking, she stood and charged forward attempting to push the Armored Knight back. The Grimm seemed to desire Jaune. She needed to keep that beast away from him until she could figure something out.

It was strange but ever since she met fought with him, she felt this faint connection form between him and her. The best way to describe it was a **bond**. It was that bond that was pushing her to her upmost limits.

So she fought, Striking at whatever openings she could fine. It was desperate situation yet she was out holding hope on some miracle happening.

 **VI**

"Mr Arc's aura is at thirty percent." An officer yelled. Ozpin frowned at this report. How was that possible? The creature's power was strong yes but any Aura should be able to withstand such an attack. At most his Aura should be down be reduced to seventy percent. Was it possible that his semblance is weak to such an attack?

"It appears we've found a flaw in Mr Arc's semblance." Ozpin replied frowning. The Headmaster watched as Weiss was trying to act as a distraction. The Armored Knight was on its last legs with its super heated armor nullified. The same could be said for the Schnee Heiress though.

Yet, despite her Aura being as low as it is, she was fighting back against the steel giant with a ferocity he thought he'd never see in a Schnee Huntress.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about 's status?" Ozpin asked the officer.

"He's unconscious but despite that, his Aura is still active and hasn't further decreased. In fact according to a recent medical scan, he should be waking up soon. "

"How soon?"

"The scan estimates between three to five minutes."

Ozpin bit his lip. "That'll take to long." Timing now, was the key to finishing this battle. If Weiss was knocked out before Jaune woke up then this battle was good as over for them. They needed a means to buy time and Ozpin could only think of one option.

"Jenkins, does the scouting probe have any armaments?"

"Just a small micro bomb."

"Ozpin… What are you planning?" Glynda asked.

"I plan on giving those two one more chance…"

Hopefully, this would provide them with the shot they needed.

 **VII**

She was almost there! Whatever Jaune had done earlier, every hit Weiss landed resulted in the armor cracking. However, she was at her limit. She had sensed her aura was almost gone and once it vanished she would be at the mercy of her foe.

After ducking under a giant swing the Knight made, she countered by thrusting her rapier at the Knight's head, knocking it on his back. She despaired, when she saw that her attack wasn't the killing blow.

"Miss Schnee" a voice yelled from behind. Weiss turned around and saw the probe speeding towards the Knight. The Armored Knight got up and tried swatting away the probe. The Scout probe avoided the Grimm's armored hand and kept circling around it.

"What?" Was all she could say. Her comm came to life at that very moment.

"Miss Schnee I suggest you take this time to rest…"

"Ozpin? Why?"

"Gather all the energy you need because when the time comes you'll going in for one final attack."

"How?"

"You'll see."

The probe continued circling around Knight. Weiss looked on with a mix of fascination and amusement as the probe had done wonders distracting the knight. With in minutes Weiss had managed to rest up and restore some of her depleted aura. By the time the Armored Knight caught the probe she was rested up.

"All right…" Weiss said, taking one deep breath. "I'm ready."

The probe exploded in the Armored Grimm's hands, causing its entire hand to blow off. Weiss' senses sharpened, she was ready to go in. This would be the final round.

"I hope you didn't think of killing him before I woke up!" A center Huntsmen said, stepping to her side. Weiss' eyes widened and she tilted her head to side.

A single glance at Jaune and suddenly a surge or relief and confidence had shot through her heart mixed with a something resembling exasperation and annoyance.

She was also careful to hide her own emotions by retaining a neutral yet serious expression.

"I see you've decided to finally wake up?"

 **VIII**

Jaune let out a light chuckle as he brandished his blade.

"I've been known to oversleep."

"It's unfitting of a Huntsmen to nap during a battle!" She said with a mock glare.

"Hey easy! I'm new to this remember."

"That's no excuse."

"Geez. You're harsh." The blond laughed.

Weiss smirked at that before returning to her more serious mask. She was visibly relieved all the same now that she had her partner back.

Jaune did the same and faced his nemesis once more. The Grimm's armor was cracked all over the place. Even its blade was showing signs of falling a part. Just one more go…

With a glare that kills Jaune charged forward blue light surrounding his body. A blue card appeared in front of him, his eyes sharpened.

 **"PERSONA!"** He yelled. With a swing of his blade he had smashed the card.

Merovech appeared, and bolted towards his foe. Weiss joined the Persona and side by side they attacked. Together, their assault became a rain of thrusts that varied and strength speed.

The Knight was now being assaulted from three different directions. Merovach and Weiss were attacking from the air while Jaune resumed his position from below slicing at its feet and making sure to limit the creature's mobility.

The Grimm Knight despite being overwhelmed from all directions was managing to gold its own. The monster had managed to dodge take minimal damage. However, like its enemies the Grimm was now tiring of the battle. Its strength and power slowly fading away.

It was battle of endurance at this point and thanks to the number advantage the Hunters had the conclusion of this final round was inevitable.

With one final sweep of the blade, Jaune managed to disarm the Grimm's sword. With one activation of her semblance she used a binding glyph to prevent it from ever moving again and although it was overkill at this point, Merovach used his power to freeze the already unmoving Grimm.

A final look between Huntsmen and Huntress signaled the final step of their battle.

 _Step 3: Seal the enemies movement and finish it_

Weiss switched to her yellow dust roundand Merovach pulled his spear back and flanked the now frozen beast from behind. She created several platform glyphs and jumped to a higher position. Jaune readied Crocea Mars from where he was. With one final nod towards each other both placed all of their energy into one final simultaneous strike.

Jaune's blade slashed the Grimm's stomach, Weiss with the activation of her lighting dust round chattered the layer of armor and Merovach finished it was a thrust to the hard.

The Armored Knight was finally slain, it body breaking a part and fading away in shadowy dust and smoke. Before it died though it spoke to the ones who had vanquished him.

"Well, done Son of Man," The Armored Knight spoke its tone of voice baritone and if the blond huntsmen wasn't mistaking he also sounded happy. "You have slain a champion of the Reversed Chariot. Rejoice but beware: Now that you have awakened that power, there will be others coming after you. Be wary of not only my brethren but the Demons and gods born from the Heart of Humanity."

"Why would they come after me?" The Huntsmen asked.

"Much of my own brethren share the same reason as I. They see a challenge to better themselves. It is the Demons and the Heretic Gods you should be more wary of though. Those with Persona always had the power to shape the world as they see fit. Those demons and Gods hate when the world changes and they will fight with every fiber of their own being to change it."

"Why tell me this?"

"Because it is your reward for defeating me and it is the only thing I can offer you right now." The Armored Knight said. The Grimm's form began to dissipate and soon enough, its body became nothing but dust and smoke.

"Wait! I still have questions!" Jaune cried.

 _ **"I'm afraid we are out of time. But worry not, your journey has just begone and your answer will come in time. So Farewell Son of Man! I look forward to the day we face each other again!"**_

The dust and smoke vanished leaving not trace behind. Both Huntsmen and Huntress were weary now. However, there was something stronger then weariness; A glowing light of pride had shined through within their hearts.

Taking one deep breath, Jaune collapsed and sat down the side of the wall, letting out a light hearted laugh. Merovach vanished in a haze of blue dusty light and the silver haired heiress looked at the blond with a frown not truly understanding how to react but joined in all the same, taking a seat next to him and laughing along with him.

"We won." He said.

"We won." Weiss echoed with a smile.

A calm silence settled between them after they tired laughing with both of them reflecting on the battle before and the outcomes and consequences that would come after.

For Weiss, She realized she was finally on the way of stepping out of her Sisters shadow. She was on the way of making things right and redeeming the Schnee Corporations legacy.

For Jaune, he was continuing to bask in his glow of victory and pride because in the span of a few hours he had learned the meaning of what it is to be a Huntsmen and he faced his fears and defeated an incredibly strong foe.

"So." Jaune spoke up.

"So." Weiss repeated.

"What do we do now?"

Weiss simply smiled and laid her head on Jaune's shoulder causing him to go red. They had just met and all of the sudden she was doing this. Still, having a girl lie on him on this was a distant fantasy of his.

"Ummm… Weiss…"

"Lets get some rest for time being. By now, reinforcements should have arrived and should be clearing the building." The blond's shoulder felt oddly comfortable which was saying something because his shoulder was armored. On any other day she'd have found her own spot to rest in but after such a long and intense battle

"How do you know this?"

"Ozpin told me on the Comm."

"Oh."

"Also, if you tell anybody I did this, I'm going to hunt you down and kill you." Weiss said with tinge of pink of her face. "I'm doing this because I need something lean on. Nothing more! Don't take this the wrong way."

"Right." Jaune laughed uncomfortably. He forced to himself to calm down. All he just needed to do was get to used to this and once he did, sleep began to creep in on him as well.

He took a deep breath and leaned back against her as well. Rest did sound good, in fact the more he thought about, the more heavy his eyelids grew until finally he was asleep. He could hardly believe that he could fall asleep in such a place but yet he did.

 **IX**

As he slept he was once again drawn into a place between dreams and reality; Mind and matter.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." The long nosed man said. He was sitting at the same place he was since he last came there. Jaune looked at him curiously and took seat in front of him.

"Now that your power has awakened I think its time to explain what this room can do to help you."

Jaune simply nodded and listened in as Igor explained his purpose.

 **Author's Note**

 _Good day everyone! I have to say I'm relieved finishing this. Its has been a while since I've actually finished a story arc for a fic but I'm glad I did and I'm really looking forward to getting into the more juicy bits of where I want to go with this story._

 _The purpose of this chapter was not only to practice more on writing fight scenes but also to help establish the flaws and strengths of Jaune's starting persona as well. Worry not though, he'll be getting new persona's soon enough and how he'll do so will be pretty much the same as how the other wild cards got new persona's in the other two games._

 _Somebody did ask for social links, and They will comeback as well as fusion as evidence by the Velvet Room. However, there is one more function of the Velvet Room I'm adding and to give a small tease it's going to be called this: **Strengthen** **Community**_

 _Also my aim for this chapter is to create a dynamic between the him and Weiss. Weiss is may definitely feature heavily in this fic._

 _Whether or not I make their relationship be of a romantic nature or something completely platonic is up in the air though. Right now, I'm leaning on romantic at the moment. I'll start by building up on their friendship first and see where that goes._

 _I'm currently debating whether or not to swap Weiss out with Pyrrha for the entrance exams and teams. I'm leaning on no because in canon the two teams still interact pretty heavily even if they go on different paths._

 _As for canon, there will be derailments especially in regard to what Jaune has to do as the last Wild Card On Remnant. He's definitely going to be dealing with Gods and Demons and their plans and machinations soon and dealing with those will definitely derail a number of canon plots._

 _So, read and review and I really hope you enjoyed the conclusion to this first arc._


	6. A sword is useless without being

" **A sword is useless without being tempered or sharpened."**

After several days of rain, a heavy fog had settled into the city of Vacuo. With the fog, came the arrival of a certain goddess.

It had taken several weeks but Mariko had finally managed to track that person down. The goddess had spent a tremendous amount of time looking over into the third realm or rather the realm of demons. She heard not a whisper or seen a clue leading to the God of Time's current incarnation. It was only when she started to search more in depth into the material world that she finally found herself on the right track.

According to her intelligence the man she was looking for was currently residing in a small diner in a rundown part of the city. Several Faunaus were eying Mariko with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity. It wasn't a surprise. Many Faunus in this part of Vacuo were still treated as second class citizens despite the effects of the rights movement years ago. It all so didn't help that the White Fang were currently acttive in the area and there are reports of an upcoming planned assault.

The diner, simply named Dottie's and a rather unique design interior design to it what with it black and white checkered floors and neon signs and even the the uniforms were old fashioned with its funny hats and they're sporting sterile white color. It was a throwback to a period of time before the Great War. Before the Faunus Rights Revolution. A time when segregation was prevalent, and no human citizen would bat an eye at the atrocities caused by the corporations and the local counsel.

It was funny even with all the changes that had occurred in the past several years, the diner managed to remain the same. As both a symbol of a forgotten era and a mark of shame of the neighborhood. Dotties was the first and last restaurant to invoke its segregation policy. There was even an old poster still hanging on the wall from the City counsel that proclaimed: _Separate but equal leads to peace._

"Welcome to Dottie's, Have a seat and I'll be with you in one moment." A blond bunny Faunus said as she was cashing out the last pair of customers. Mariko nodded and assumed a seat and looked t her menu.

The restaurant itself was actually dead at the moment. Mariko assumed it was because of the heavy rain and fog. The goddess felt bad for causing it seeing as the part of town gets as little business as it was but for the moment she needed to do it in order to better protect herself. She had made a lot of enemies in the demon realm and she was not looking to engage them in the middle of the city.

Not that the Demons and Gods would or could start a fight in the real world. Ironically whatever force that was behind the Shadows (Or Grimm as they have be come known) dominating the planet, that same force was keeping the Demons and Gods entering this world.

"So! Now that's settled, what can I do for you…" The blond bunny said. Looking up from her menu to speak to the waitress, the moment she got a good look at her waitress her jaw dropped.

"You're.. but…how?" She whispered more to the herself then to her.

Memories of a time long forgotten came to the surface. Memories, she hadn't really needed to reflect on when she came to.

 _"I'm Zen, this is Rei.. That is what we call each other…"_

 _"_ _Strawberry, Mint,Potato, Milk, Melon, Seaweed and Smelt!"_

 _"_ _What's a group date cafe?"_

 _"_ _Philei. It means love."_

 _"_ _Everyone, that you for everything now. Can you show me that…Thank you so much!"_

 _"_ _Everyone draws a map as they live their lives… You're not alone at all…"_

 _"_ _Bye…Bye…"_

A surge of emotions struck Marie as she remembered. She recalled images of a world outside the flow of fate and time. Memories of a once forgotten adventure. Of an alternate world that consisted of a another Yasogami formed from the subconscious of a broken hearted girl.

 _"Wherever there are beginnings there are ends. That is the providence of the world. These new ends come with new beginnings."_

Mariko blinked once more, tears in her eyes. The blond bunny girl looked at the girl with concern and worry which was slowly turning into panic.

"Oh no! I did it again! I'm really sorry." She said. "I'll get you free meal I'm promise."

"No wait!" The goddess grabbed the blond girls arm before she could leave. "I should apologize, I don't know what came over me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes…" Mariko breathed. "Niko. if you can get me a water that'd be great."

"Okay…" The blond said. Then her eyes widened at her name. "Hey! How did you know my name."

"I overheard somebody in the backroom calling your name." Mariko lied. Niko looked uncertain but decided to think about it later, opting to get her customer a drink and hopefully make the entire situation less awkward.

It was strange to encounter Niko, or rather Rei as the Dark haired girl had once known her. It was even stranger that there would be this surge of emotion rushing into the ancient goddess.

Back in the other world, the world of the Labyrinth, Mariko was never really that close to Rei. It was understandable considering she wasn't part of the search parties that went into the maze. The few conversations they did have had been mostly small talk at most during the Party's resting periods.

They were memorable still and by the end of that trial a bond had definitely formed between them although it was rather feint compared to the rest of SEES and The investigation team.

Maybe that's why she as so emotional at the moment, Rei or rather Niko served as a reminder of warmer times. A reminder of Yu and the others and the times they shared joking and having fun. Oh there was the threat of being killed in Alternate Yasogami looming in the air but the strongest memories the strongest moments were always the times they spent together.

"Marie?" A voiced called from the entrance. The glasses girl gasped at the mention of her old name. She turned around and found a dark skinned fox faunus with shaggy hair and dressed in what appeared to be an academy uniform. The Goddess laughed as she took the sight of him in. Of course. She should have known. If Rei was here then it logically the person she was bound to by fate would be here as well.

"It's been a while Zen." The girl said. The dark skinned Faunus looked at the glasses girl searchingly as if trying to spot any form of deception on the girl's part. He didn't have to search long.

"I was wondering when you'd arrive. Is this fog is your work?"

"Yes, We have a lot to talk about and a lot to catch up on."

"Lunch is on me then," Zen said with a warm smile.

 **II.**

Mariko perked up as the steak skewers arrived, along with the mashed potatoes and soda. Zen himself simply got a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a ham sandwich.

"How did you regain your memories?" Zen asked, taking a couple of spoons of soup.

"When Yu and the others defeated my other self," Mariko replied take a bite out of skewers. "The moment we merged together, those memories that were lost returned to me."

She smiled then also recalling the incidents involving Kagutsuchi. When the Shadow operatives arrived in town, Mariko's was inclined to meet with them but before she could do so she was actually contacted by Philemon and had to meet with the embodiment of the god of humanity. A shame to considering, she could have gotten both teams to work together immediately.

According to Yu though, the Operatives and The Investigation Team ended up getting along just fine without her. Even with their memories of the Maze gone, the connections the built were strong enough to allow strong sense of trust between the two parties.

"What about you?" Mariko asked. "I thought reincarnation meant that you lost all your memories and moved forward in the cycle."

"Being a reincarnation from an aspect of Chronos has the added effect of retaining a lot o what others would normally lose." Zen responded. "It's a good thing too because I was reborn as an orphan and I would've gotten killed on the streets had I not regained some of what I am. "

"I'm assuming once you remembered you went and found Niko again."

"Something like that." Zen smiled nostalgically. "That is a long story and I have feeling you aren't here for a long stories." His expression turned serious. "You're here about going back to the past aren't you?"

"I couldn't find your successor in the Demon realm. The only hint of his power I have is his Servants who are hard to pinpoint as is and you."

"I'm not surprised, The new Chronos take is his duties far more seriously then I ever did. He most likely formed his domain beyond The Material and Demon Worlds. Probably a place that exists outside the flow of time."

"Which means that getting to him is next to impossible and that leaves us with you."

"Don't know why you bothered. It's nice seeing you again but." Zen went on with a frown. "I'm not as strong as I once was. I can barely go back five minutes in time let alone send somebody else back millions of years."

"Once we restore your power. Then you can do all that and maybe more." Mariko replied.

"And how are you going to do that?" Zen asked confusedly.

"By attacking Chronos' servants and giving their power to you." Mariko said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Thirty-seconds of silence greeted the pair after this statement. Zen, being as stoic as he had always been took a sip of his coffee.

"You realize how suicidal that sounds."

"Suicidal and the only option we have." The Glasses girl agreed. "Chronos' power and the contracts he made with other Gods made those servants of his untouchable by the likes of us. or anybody else for that matter. There is an exception though. A Persona user."

"You want the Wild Card that you and Philemon had just awakened to take on these servants." Zen stated catching on to Mariko's intention. "Servants that have been around for millennia? Servants who could wipe out entire continents if they were so inclined."

"In only one year, Yu and the others became strong enough to slay my other self a well as the Sagiri born from me. In that similar time frame the Shadow Operatives managed to beat back Erebus and prevent Nyx's arrival." Mariko argued. "Other groups of Persona users have achieved similar feats. I don't see what's the problem"

"This situation is entirely different." Zen shot back. "Yu and Makoto actually had allies who were just as capable as they were. Allies who also wielded Persona."

"Jaune's potential allies won't need a persona to make a difference." Mariko said confidently. "Sometimes a bonds are all that's needed to achieve victory. You of all people should understand this."

"Too many things can go wrong with this plan!"

"It's the only shot we have right now. We're already operating on a limited time frame. We have to get creative. We're just going to have to trust that the Grimm Queen will be strong enough to hold back the Gods and Demons and be to distracted by them to even consider going after Jaune."

"Some will get through though." Zen said. "I'm betting some who are already in this world already sense what you did."

"They still don't know his identity which gives us enough breathing room." Mariko replied. "A little shabby but so far, the plan is going perfectly."

The glasses girl had shuddered suddenly when she finished that sentence. She couldn't explain why but she had this odd feeling that fate had other things in mind.

As if on cue, Niko burst from the backroom causing both Goddess and former God to turn their heads to the now distressed blond bunny.

"Zen!" She yelled. "Lily! She's on the news. There's been an attack in Vale."

Mariko's eyes widened at the mention of the city. _Oh no._ Zen, catching on quickly to the situation asked Niko to bring her Tablet to the counter. Within seconds all three were over looking Niko's shoulders as they were watching the news with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity.

 **III.**

 _"New information has finally been released about the disaster at the Schnee theatre._ newscaster said. _"What was supposed to be a magical debut concert of one Weiss Schnee quickly turned bloody as Grimm had managed to enter the Stadium."_

"Lily was working that night" Niko said, her eyes beginning to water. "She told me she was assigned to concessions."

"I'm sure she's fine." Zen said soothingly patting the young girls shoulders. "She's a strong girl. A survivor. Something like this won't end her."

The blond bunny looked up at Zen for reassuarnce. Zen gave her a warm smile and hugged her from behind. She blushed slightly but she returned the hug.

"I'll call to see if she's okay." She said. She got stood up decided to leave the Diner and go to a nearby Communications tower to contact her friend.

Mariko was only half listening, a sense of dread filling her heart as she continued to listen to the reports. She had only awakened Jaune's power the other day. She had hoped he hadn't gotten involved somehow. Yet, one can never know when it comes to Persona users.

So far the reporter was talking the victims and how Hunter HQ responded quickly to the emergency. Then the next segment of the report happened which changed everything.

"Casualties would have been higher had not been for the actions of two rookie Hunters. it was thanks to these warriors that the rest of the Hunter Teams were able to to save 90 percent of all the civilians. Here's a video from an anonymous source that shows these two fine warriors in action."

A video clip played of Two Hunters fighting a Giant armored Grimm. Mariko had recognized one of them as Weiss Schnee. A girl she had seen on a couple of fashion magazines. The other Huntsmen with her was a person that caused the dark haired girls jaw to drop.

"Damn it. That can't be…" Mariko said.

On that very screen, Jaune was there with his newly awakened persona, attacking the shadows or Grimm as if he was doing this for years. Revealing to all of Remnant his power. The power that altered the fate of the world so many times.

If the Demon and Gods that are hiding in Remnant didn't know the identity of the Persona user. Now they do.

"This is too soon." Mariko said harshly. She was hoping for at least a a month before something like this happened. By then his abilities would have developed and he would be a match for his enemies in hiding.

As for Zen's reaction, he looked thoughtful as he watched Jaune fight. Him working together with Weiss greatly reminded him of the times spent the labyrinth.

"I'll help you find those servants." Zen said suddenly. Mariko turned to her friend and frowned.

"Why the change of heart?" She asked. Zen's eyes were gazing up at Jaune as watched the clip of him getting a few good hits in on the Armored Grimm..

"Its still a big gamble but after seeing your champion fight, I don't think it will be as big of a gamble as I thought."

"So you'll support me?" She asked hopefully.  
"Yes, but before I even tell you where one of the servants are, I want you to make sure Jaune is ready for the trials ahead."

"He's being prepared as we speak." Mariko replied irritably. "Since his power is awakened, I'm sure the Nose and Margret will get him up to par."

"Then come with me." Zen said standing up. "I have something in my home that will allow us to track those servants."

Mariko nodded and followed Zen outside the Diner. Battle plans were being drawn. How long they'll survive is only a question that could be answer by fate.

 **IV.**

Louise Cypher walked into Junior's Bar with a swagger and style befitting of a man dressed in a purple suite and yellow tie and sporting neatly combed and brushed long blond hair. Across the the night a man in a bartender uniform with a bear waved him over causing the sharply dressed man to smile and wave back

The night club was hot with all manner of people dancing to the beat of the song "I burn." The crowd largely ignored him although few girls, particularly two raven haired twins shot the mysterious man with a looks of attraction and interest.

When he reached the bar the bartender known as Junior greeted him warmly. He was an older man in his mid thirties spring a red tie, black bear and black hair.

"There he is," Junior said with a grin. "The Devil himself; How have you been man."

"You're a lot more chipper then usual Junior" Louise said with a smile. "Scotch on the rocks." He ordered.

"Absolutely! This one is on me by the way. At the moment, your money is no good."

"Much obliged." Louise responded. He looked around noting how different it was from the last time he was here. "Finally cleaned up a bit after that Blondie's rampage."

"Thanks to the bonus you gave me for that job I've even managed to do a fair bit of re-modeling." He responded happily. "I'm curious though, you sure payed hell of a lot of money for me to get that clip and slip it to the news outlets. The job was a piece of cake by the way but it certainly wasn't worth fifty-thousand Lien."

"Lets just say I have a special interest in one of the Hunters."

"That Schnee girl? You don't strike me as the type go for teenagers. Got to tell you man they're worth a lot of trouble."

"That's rich coming from you," Louise teased. "How was blondies kiss by the way? I heard it had quite the _punch_."

The older man scowled causing the well dressed man to chuckle.

"Don't worry about that friend we all have our weak moments. To answer your question though, it isn't the Schnee girl that interests me but the one fighting with her. The one called Jaune Arc."

"Is that so? He looked like any other amateur huntsmen. "

"Oh he is, but lets just say that this Huntsmen has the potential for a job I've been meaning to do."

"Kid looks like a goody goody from the news reports. I don't think he'd be willing to do any jobs in the underworld."

"Oh I'll worry about that." Louise said with a mysterious smile. From his blazer he removed a small gold pocket watch from its pockets. He frowned when saw the time. "Is my private room reserved?"

"As always," Junior said. "I take it you have another meeting tonight. Do you want me to send Melanie and Militia for security?"

"That won't be nessceary," The blond man responded. "The guests I have don't feel comfortable with other people. I'm also capable of taking care of myself if things go awry."

"Suit yourself man. When would you like me to send the drinks."

"Have them sent up in an hour." Louise replied. He stood up then with his drink in hand and made his way to one of the private.

 **V.**

The moment he got into the V.I.P room he was greeted by the most shrill of voices.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" A woman said from behind. Louise turned around to be greeted by the sight of three women all of them sitting down on a semi-circular couch, all of whom were wearing identical dresses but sporting different colored hair.

"Alecto, nice to see you too." Louise said with a smirk. He assumed a seat on one of the reclining chairs in the room.

"Answer the damn question." The black haired woman known as Alecto responded.

"I'm setting the stage." Louise responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"By announcing the location of our weapon to every Demon and God that lives here." The blond girl of the trio said.

"He's more then just a sword Megaera." The blond main said to the blond girl. "He's the key to winning my war."

"We don't care about your cursed war with the White God." The red head of the trio aid. "Right, you care more about getting back into Zeus' good graces." The man said with a knowing smile. "He's definitely the sword we need. But a sword is useless without being tempered or sharpened."

"This isn't what we agreed on." Alecto replied sharply.

"This is exactly what we agreed upon" Louise frowned. "I'm making sure he's ready for our plans. I'm simply providing him with the best means to sharpen his abilities."

"And what if he breaks before we need him."

"He won't." Louise said confidently. "I'll make sure of it."

"And what are you going to do about the others?"

Louise simply smirked as he took a sip of his drink. "I have a plan for them too. So sit back and relax. But if you're that worried abut then why don't you keep watch over him until he's ready. "

"I think its you that needs to be watched." Alecto responded with a menacing glare.

"You're welcome to do so of course." Louise said with a grin. "Keep in mind that I'm not a very easy person to spy on even with the three of you working together to do so.

"You expect us to let this slide?" Megeara asked. An aura of red light surrounded the woman, her eyes filled with killing intent.

"I expect you to preform your roles." Louise responded amused. "My methods may be unconventional but they will get results. You cannot deny that."

The three sisters continued to glare at the the purple suited man for a good five minutes. Each of them were considering his words. Eventually, Alecto talked down Megaera from attacking Louise

"Much obliged Alecto." Louise said with a smile.

"From this point on you will inform us about what you are doing to The Wild Card." Alecto said calmly. "Otherwise, this partnership will end as will your life."

Louise gave out a hearty laugh as if that was the most ridiculous statement in the world. Him the embodiment of pure and unrestrained freedom and chaos, being killed by a bunch low class harpies. That was ludicrous.

He did stop laughing once Megaera gathered power. He could wipee out all three demons with a blink of an eye but it wouldn't do to kill such key pieces in the grander game.

"Fine! Fine. I get it." He said throwing up his arms in placating gestures.

"Now that that's settled how do you plan on dealing with the other Demons? You said something about using them to prepare the boy."

Louise gave them another devilish smile as he proceeded to explain his grand design. The pieces were gathering and the game was about to begin.

 **VI.**

 **"** I think introductions are in order." Igor said with his mysterious smile. Jaune nodded as his mind was slowly working through what Igor had told moments ago. He understood it clear enough. The Velvet Room was a means to train a Persona users in controlling and expanding their power. What he couldn't really get his head around was how he was going to expand this power. Most Huntsmen and Huntresses spend years and years honing not only their bodies and techniques newer levels and heights to combat the escalating conflict against the Grimm but according to Igor, to develop his own powers he would need to form connections with others or to put it more bluntly: **The power of friendship.**

Most semblances became stronger through repeated use, while that was true for his new power. Unless he forms bonds, he'll never truly grow just by a constant stream of battles and training. He was skeptical of course but considering all that's happened to him so far. He was ready to keep an open mind.

"I have no name." Said a man in a dark suit and sporting a blind fault. It was "But if you must, then you may refer to me as Nameless." Jaune wanted to laugh but a warning look from the blond woman next to Igor told him otherwise. "Through my music, I can draw out the potential of your Personas. While all personas share similar traits and abilities all personas contain a unique skill and quality to then. What I can do is draws those qualities out."

"I am Belladonna." The woman said. She is next the blind folded man sporting a black dress and long black hair with a silver streak in the middle "The songs I sing can heal Personas that have been damaged due being forgotten and corrupted over the ages. Not only will I be able to heal but my songs can uncover connections between Personas. Once those connections are uncovered and remembered, you may use something called a Fusion spell. A spell which makes use of the connections between different Personas."

"I am Margret" Blond woman said at last. "I am in charge of your compendium. Any Personas you receive will be recorded with in this compendium and whenever you want to retrieve the ones you had to dismiss or fuse, the come to me and I'll re-call them for you. I also help monitor the Community you're in and can advise you in ways in which you can heal said community and strengthen it."

Jaune nodded and frowned. The explanations were straight forward enough but something was bothering him about nurturing his powers.

"You said I can wield multiple Personas but how do I get them in the first. place."

"The enemies you fight. Those that you call Grimm. They are actually fragments and negativity of the human mind. When you defeat them, sometimes those Grimm will drop a small light. A piece of themselves they have left behind. The one good aspect of a Grimm they will ever have. Once you yourself grasp this light, it will become a Persona and enter the sea of your soul."

Jaune mouth dropped at Igor's explanation. What was theorized about the origins of the Grimm and their nature was thrown out the window by this very long nosed man before him. He wanted to say he was crazy by this room and his power were also crazy. To denounce one would mean to denounce the other reason.

"I don't know if you know this but you just shattered entire branch of Grimm Studies in that one sentence alone." He responded eliciting a chuckle from Igor.

"There are many mysteries yet to be discovered as well as many truths to be re-discovered. Such is the way of the Wild Card. One of the purposes of your journey is to uncover those truths."

"And what other purpose could I have."

"What you will do with that truth." Igor said meaningfully. "It's one thing to have knowledge, it is completely another on _how_ you will use that knowledge."

Jaune nodded. He was beginning to understand. He then turned to Margret.

"I pretty much get this persona stuff but what do you mean by Community." Jaune asked.

"The state of a community effects how your Personas will function. As well as effect how you're journey will progress. Healing a community will make it easier to recover fully functional personas upon defeating Grimm while strengthening will provide all sorts of benefits." Magaret explained.

"What kind of benefits?"

"You'll find out in due time." Margret smiled mysteriously. "Right now the state of the Vale community is normal with the occasional ailments such as some crime and poverty. Nothing to worry about but if you want to make your journey more easier. I advise you to find away to help out improve it. You can do this by volunteering at soup kitchens or helping out a neighbor. Forming Social links will also speed up the healing and strengthening of a community. How you will do this is up to you. Just remember, if the community falls into a constant state of despair and sickness then traversing the roads of your personal journey will be that much more difficult."

Jaune nodded. Truthfully, he never so himself as the volunteering type. It makes sense though, if he was to be Huntsmen he would also have learn to generous and charitable. It can't just be about glory or living up to a legacy.

"Is there anything else you need to ask." Igor questioned. The blond boy shook his head. "Very well." With a wave of his hand a blue ball of light appeared at the center of the room. Instinctively, Jaune reached out and grabbed it. The blue light felt warm, comforting, and like metal.

"The next time you return here will be of your own free will. Farewell , and may your Journey be a fruitful one."

The Room had faded, and soon Jaune found himself awake in a white sterile room. It was a hospital bed he realized, and as he lifted himself up and stretched his body, he now wondered what kind of future he would have with this new Semblance of his and what kind of path took to reach the end of his journey.

 **Author's Note**

 _Good day everyone! Welcome to yet another chapter of this piece. Funny enough, I was going to take a break from this and write another piece._

 _Unfortunately for me my laptop ran into some unexpected problems and I ended up having to reformat it and as a result, the start of my next story which would have been a Mass Effect Star Wars cross was deleted. So after that happened I ended up going back and creating another chapter The Wild Card of Remnant._

 _It's a very exposition heavy chapter, but I felt it was necessary one as the new mechanics of the Velvet Room had to be established as well as some of the motivations for Marie's actions. Also introducing Zen and Rei (or Niko in this case), who won't really play a prominent role until a key arc in the story. It will be a long ways off but I felt it was better to establish them now and help flesh out Mariko characters who is basically one of the Big Goods._

 _Speaking of Big Powers, You'll notice I decided to introduce some elements from the of other Megami Tensei games. I will tell you at least for this fics verse that these Big Bads that have entered the story aren't really the same enemies you've seen in the other games. How Demons and Gods are created for this piece will be a key point for yet another future story arc._

 _This chapter is basically for setting the stage and I really hope you aren't too terribly bored by it. I'm basically laying down the ground work for what's to come and I hope you'll find the pay off worth it._

 _The reason why the mechanics for the Velvet Room are different has to do with the state the world is in. Remnant has forgotten largely about its heres and villains and because of that the Personas Jaune uses will be affected. Belief is an important aspect of creating personas and without it, The Personas you know so well won't be functioning as they normally would, Which is why Belladonna and the Nameless pianist is there. Not only do I get to explore their characters but they function as means of restoring The Persona system to the way it was. There is also the fact that music seems to be a prominent theme to both Persona and Rwby so I thought it would be nice to use it for this story._

 _As for the Community aspect, I have big plans for that and it will certainly impact the storyline in a big way._

 _Chapter is certainly longer then usual but don't get used to it. I'm still sticking to my around 4000 word minimum. It's just I felt that I couldn't really afford to cut or move scenes of this chapter to the next as they all shared the exact same theme of preparation._

 _Read and review and I hope you enjoy! I'll see you next chapter._


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